Ahead of Health Committee hearing, members of the California Nurses Association, other labor unions, advocacy groups, and members of the California State Assembly will gather at Cesar Chavez Park

On Tuesday, April 23, as the California Assembly Health Committee will be convening a hearing on AB 2200 (Kalra), the CA Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, commonly known as CalCare, California nurses and activists will rally in support of this transformative single-payer health care legislation. Registered nurses, who are part of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) will be joined in Sacramento by other labor unions, advocacy groups, and members of the California State Assembly.

“Nurses believe that health care is a human right, not a commodity. Having patients suffer for lack of money is immoral,” said Cathy Kennedy, RN, president of California Nurses Association (CNA). “Covid-19 underscored California’s pervasive health inequities, driven by the current patchwork system that rations care based on factors like your income, employment, or immigration status. By ending tiered systems of care and providing health care with no cost at the point of service, CalCare would guarantee that all Californians have quality health care, and we’re proud to say that the coalition behind this legislation is stronger than ever before.”

What: CalCare rally with nurses, electeds, and activists
When: Tuesday, April 23, 2024 @ 11 a.m. PT
Who:

• Michelle Gutierrez Vo, RN and president of California Nurses Association
• Ismael Armendariz, president of Oakland Educators Association (OEA),  representative of California Teachers Association (CTA)
• Jeff Freitas, president of California Federation of Teachers (CFT)
• UAW Region 6
• Brittney Clark, Area Representative, California School Employees Association (CSEA)
• Sheila Bates, Policy Team Lead, Black Lives Matter California
• Jane Kim, Executive Director of California Working Families Party
• Cheng-Sim Lim, Board member of Health Care 4 Us (HC4US)
• California Asm. Liz Ortega, CalCare (AB 2200) co-author 
• California Asm. Isaac Bryan, CalCare (AB 2200) co-author
• California Asm. Ash Kalra, CalCare (AB 2200) author (pending committee hearings)

Where: Cesar Chavez Park, 910 I St, Sacramento CA 95814

The California Health Committee is expected to hold a vote on the CalCare bill after the hearing; if the legislation were to pass out of its first committee, it would be a major step forward for the single-payer movement.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.