Group holds panel on U.S. health care
CRANBERRY TWP — Concerned citizens converged on Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School on Thursday for a panel on the state of the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, and the future of health care in America.
We the People, an impromptu political interest group comprised of people from around Western Pennsylvania organized the event, with booths for other groups and organizations like Western PA Coalition for Single Payer Healthcare, AARP and Fair Districts PA.
“We the People has been planning this for months,” said Sylvia Nagle, a volunteer with the organization.
She became involved in the movement because of professional and personal experiences with the health care system.
“I'm 60 years old,” she said. “One of my drugs is $3,000 a month.”
Additionally, Nagle worked with children with autism and saw firsthand the struggles of parents trying to pay for their children's care.
“We're so worried,” she said. “Right now everything is up in the air. It's pretty scary.”
We the People first began planning the event while Republicans in Congress were voting on repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with a plan of their own.
“Day to day we were up then we were down then we were up …” said Catherine Lalonde, organizer with We the People. “We want people to get involved.”
The organization recently formed to address this issue and to encourage people to engage in the process and fight for the policies they believe in.
For more information about We the People, visit the Facebook page @wethepeopletalkhealthcare. Its membership is comprised of people in Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties.
A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.
