Thao Nguyen, Director of Outreach

by Thao Nguyen, Outreach Manager, 
National Women's Law Center  

This post is part of a series on Women and Health Reform.

Last Wednesday night, Raising Women’s Voices held their first National Women’s Speak Out for Action on Health Reform in New York City – an exciting forum where community members come together to hear women share the critical stories that illustrate our broken health care system and empower both speakers and listeners to become engaged in the health care fight.

Over a hundred and fifty activists, community members, and public officials gathered in the historic Interchurch Center in New York City on the cold and rainy night to hear about people whose backgrounds, cultures, and even languages may be completely different, but who share one singular fact – they are a part of the same failed system. The event began with a rousing performance by the Interchurch gospel choir singing members of the audience to their feet and set the stage for a night of anger, laughter, disgust, fear, and hope.

The Speak Out was moderated by Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Chief Medical Editor for NBC News, with a panel of experts, to punctuate the stories with their knowledge and insight. After the short introduction, came the stories – from a young mother to a young student, from an established small businesswoman to an immigrant just starting her life in the country – the stories came. Each story had different characters with unique emotions and lives, but the failures and frustrations were similar. Large bills, little access, and an insurance industry rather than providers who determined the who, what, and when of care.