1199SEIU members and community members meet with State Representative Mike La Rosa (R-Saint Cloud) to discuss the issue of healthcare expansion for 1.2 million hardworking Floridians.



Throughout the summer, 1199SEIU nurses and healthcare workers in hospitals and nursing homes have been joining with community members at lobby visits and town halls demanding that state legislators approve healthcare expansion for 1.2 million hardworking Floridians – something legislators failed to do during the last legislative session, despite significant support from everyday Floridians and businesses across the state.



And as state legislators return to Tallahassee on September 23 for the first week of committee meetings leading up to the 2014 legislative session, they are ready to ramp up the pressure even more in calling for a special session to pass healthcare expansion.



Many 1199SEIU caregivers’ patients and co-workers cannot afford the health insurance they desperately need to stay healthy, and in many cases alive. In one case, a nursing home worker in West Palm Beach who has dedicated her life to caring for others is battling cancer without health insurance because she cannot afford it.



1199SEIU caregivers and community allies have been sharing stories like this, and countless others, at town halls in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Miami, and at lobby visits, to convince legislators who denied healthcare to those in need that there is still time to do the right thing.



Some of the legislators that caregivers and community members have met with recently include State Representatives Ross Spano (R-Riverview), Erik Fresen (R-Miami), Jose Oliva (R-Hialeah), Dave Hood (R-Daytona Beach), Ed Hooper (R-Clearwater) and Mike La Rosa (R-Saint Cloud).



As these state legislators get ready to travel back to Tallahassee, 1199SEIU nurses and healthcare workers will continue to keep pressure on them and others who blocked healthcare expansion for 1.2 million hardworking Floridians by continuing to make phone calls, conduct lobby visits and speak out at town halls.



Lives are on the line.



Take action on September 23, the first day of committee meetings in Tallahassee, by calling 1-866-443-1844, and tell your state legislator to support healthcare expansion for 1.2 million hardworking Floridians.