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UCR Today: New News, New Look. Go!

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — Citizens concerned over high health care costs and those who lack coverage all together will have a voice in a statewide conversation on health care reform August 11 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at UCR’s Student Recreation Center. CaliforniaSpeaks, a non-partisan organization, will allow diverse members of the community a chance to respond with their opinions during the event. At the end of the day, they plan to report the opinions to help shape and inform the health care debate.

Participants will simultaneously gather at sites in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Sacramento and Oakland-San Francisco. To ensure that attendees span all different ages, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds and political beliefs, participants have been randomly selected to participate in the conversation.

“UC Riverside is pleased to make its facilities available to CaliforniaSpeaks and area citizens for this event,” said Jeff Kraus, UCR director of community relations. “It is important that this growing inland area be represented in the health care discussion going on now, so that Californians have a voice on the issues that affect their well being.”

Each table discussion group of 10 to 12 people will have a volunteer facilitator. Interactive television will allow the discussions to be connected statewide and wireless computers will provide all participants a chance to cast their vote on specific proposals. The entire group will respond to the strongest themes generated from table discussions and will vote on final recommendations to decision-makers.

A discussion report will be distributed to participants, decision makers and the media as they leave. The discussion results will be presented to the governor and legislative leadership regarding legislation currently being negotiated in Sacramento. The goal is to provide participants with an opportunity to influence critical decision making.

CaliforniaSpeaks is a project of AmericaSpeaks a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission of providing Americans with a greater voice in the most important decisions that affect their lives. Most recently, AmericaSpeaks convened thousands of New Orleans residents to create their city’s recovery plan after Hurricane Katrina.

CaliforniaSpeaks is sponsored by Blue Shield of California Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation and The California Endowment.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.