Local group formed to advocate affordable health care for all

Concerned by the health-care crisis afflicting Aquidneck Island, a group of citizens from Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport have come together to demand solutions. We are taking action because currently there are more than 120,000 uninsured residents in the state, including more than 6,500 from Newport County, and skyrocketing health insurance costs are pushing coverage out of the reach of area working families. Also, Newport County has the state’s second-highest rate of uninsured residents and more than 1,000 uninsured children, according to the Census Bureau.

We are a diverse group of health-care voters. Our grass-roots action committee, Aquidneck Islanders for Health Care, adopted the following mission statement: “We on Aquidneck Island acknowledge that our three communities, Rhode Island and the United States are facing a health-care crisis. We will therefore work together to influence and support policy makers until we achieved quality affordable health care for all.”

Recently, members of our committee worked with Rhode Island for Health Care, a statewide grass-roots organization, in requesting council resolutions in Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. This resolution calls on the president, our congressional delegation and the governor to preserve funding for Medicaid, a cornerstone of our health-care system. Today one in six Rhode Islanders depend on services provided by Medicaid.

We will continue to work for affordable, accessible and quality care for all and urge others to join us. Our next meeting is on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Middletown Public Library.

Donald Stuehler, Portsmouth Along with 13 other members of Aquidneck Islanders for Health Care

» Return to "In the News"