Founded in 1977, Champaign County Health
Care Consumers (CCHCC) is a grassroots citizen action organization which believes
that health care is a basic human right; as such, it is dedicated to the
mission of working for quality affordable health care for all. CCHCC organizes
individuals and communities to have a voice in the health care system and to
affect social change. CCHCC carries out its mission through consumer education,
advocacy, and community organizing. Its current issue campaigns include: Access
to Care for those with low income, those with significant medical debt, and
those for whom English is not their primary language; Environmental Health campaigns,
focusing on the Fifth and Hill toxic manufactured gas plant site as well as
working to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from toxic waste being dumped at the
Clinton Landfill; organizing to address harmful medical billing and collection
practices by local health care institutions; and organizing the Medicare Task
Force to protect, strengthen, and improve Medicare and other vital programs
like Medicaid and Social Security.
In addition, CCHCC provides services
directly to clients through programs like the ACA Enrollment Program, the
Consumer Health Hotline (a free resource for Champaign County residents who
need help navigating the health care system) that receives hundreds of calls a
month, the Dental Referral Program, and the Medicare 100/Plus Discount Program
(which offers eligible Medicare beneficiaries free and discounted care at
area providers).
CCHCC could not sustain their current
efforts without the active involvement of volunteers for many of their
campaigns, as well as volunteers for the Consumer Health Hotline. Most of
CCHCC’s community organizing campaigns grow out of calls to the Hotline, as
affected consumers are brought together to work to create system change.
For more information about CCHCC, their
numerous victories and community campaigns, as well as volunteer opportunities,
check out their website at www.healthcareconsumers.org.
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