On November 22&23, we had our annual Medicare for All Strategy Conference in Rockledge Florida!
This year's theme was "The Healthcare Resistance," and the conference was cohosted by Healthcare NOW and Medicare for All Florida. It was our first chance since the pandemic to meet in person, learn together, strategize, and gather our strength for the fight ahead. In a moment when we are surrounded by hate and violence, we are building a movement based on love, solidarity, and a shared commitment to defending human dignity.
SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, November 22
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Sign In, Bagels, & Donuts
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Welcome & Speaker Panels
Our MCs:
Candy Birch (Medicare for All Florida)
Ronda Wallace (Florida Rising)
Welcomes:
Gillian Mason (Healthcare NOW)
Stephan Ramdohr (Medicare for All Florida)
Alex Newell Taylor (National Nurses United)
Video Greetings:
US Representative Pramila Jayapal (Washington)
US Senator Ed Markey (Massachusetts)
State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (Florida)
US Representative Maxwell Frost (Florida)
Medicare for All & The State of US Healthcare:
Alan Minsky (Progressive Democrats of America)
Walter Tsou (Physicians for a National Health Program)
Rachel Madley (Center for Health and Democracy)
Dr. Lynn Unruh (Physicians for a National Health Program Florida)
The Healthcare Fight in Florida:
Leo Alonso (Physicians for a National Health Program)
State Representative Rita Harris (Florida 44th District)
Mitch Emerson (Florida Decides Healthcare)
Sam Delgado (Central Florida Jobs with Justice)
Tamika Lyles (Standing Heroes for Average Workers)
State Representative Dotie Joseph (Florida 108th District)
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: Box Lunch
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM: Workshop Session 1
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Workshop Session 2
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM: Workshop Session 3
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM: Cookout at the Space Coast Health Center
SUNDAY, November 23
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Welcome Day 2, Bagels, & Donuts
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM: The Context of Our Work
Tara Connor (Rockledge City Commissioner)
Gillian Mason (Healthcare NOW)
Chuck Pennachio (One Payer States)
Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet (Hope Community Center)
State Representative Anna Eskamani (Florida 44th District)
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Strategy Session
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM: Closing
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Box Lunch To Go & Departure
WORKSHOPS
Workshops will be offered multiple times over the three sessions at the conference to give everyone the best opportunity to participate in the workshops of their choice. Stay tuned for more details.
- No Kings, No Corporate Healthcare: Showing Up for Medicare for All in the Resistance (Presented by Public Citizen)
- Heal Democracy: Using the Patients Over Profits Pledge to get Big Healthcare Money Out of Politics (Presented by National Nurses United)
- Union Strong for Universal Healthcare: Building Labor Solidarity in the Movement for Medicare for All (Presented by Medicare for All Florida)
- Fight Local: Passing Municipal Resolutions for Medicare for All (Presented by Public Citizen)
- Healthcare for All, One State at a Time: Sharing Strategies from the Fight for State-Based Single Payer (Presented by One Payer States)
- Bring the Grassroots to the State House: Organizing a Lobby Day for Medicare for All (Presented by Florida Students for a National Health Program)
- Our Health, Our Stories: Telling Your Healthcare Story in the Fight for Healthcare Justice (Presented by Florida Voices for Health)
OUR COHOSTS
We are excited to be holding our annual conference for the first time in Florida, home of our cohosts, Medicare for All Florida!
Especially in this political moment, it's critical for our movement to make its presence felt in "red" states, and we can look forward to bringing our message to one of the places it most needs to be heard while highlighting the great work our affiliates are doing to organize the South!
Find out more about what they're doing to build power in a difficult environment here!
OUR SPONSORS
Movement Builders
Organizers
Base Builders
Activists
