AARP to Hold Community Conversations on Health Care and Financial Security

Source: AARP.org | June 13, 2007

Over the summer more than two dozen community conversations on health care and financial security are planned. These conversations are presented as part of AARP South Carolina's Divided We Fail campaign, a nationwide effort to demand bipartisan action, answers and accountability on the issues.

"The rising costs of health care, the increasing number of uninsured South Carolinians combined with the low rate of savings and increasing retirement security concerns are issues that need to be addressed," said Jane Wiley, AARP SC State Director.

Wiley said results of an AARP survey of voters age 18+ finds that while more than two-thirds of Americans believe the legislative system in Washington is seriously broken, a 58 percent majority believe the country's health care and financial security systems can be fixed without adding to the deficit and burdening future generations.

"Voters in South Carolina have a tremendous opportunity and the great privilege to play a significant role in the presidential candidate nominating process," said state Divided We Fail campaign manager Bill Brown. "But with those comes the responsibility of listening and engaging presidential hopefuls as they crisscross the state."

Wiley and Brown stressed that the town hall sessions, which they referred to as "conversations for change," should spur participants to demand solutions from candidates and elective office holders to the real health care and financial security challenges the people of Sumter County face every day.

Please register by calling toll-free, (877) 926-8300 or by e-mail. Get additional information by calling Ms. Heatwole at (803) 765-7383. A complete up-to-date schedule of locations, dates, and times is listed on the AARP SC announcement board.

The conversation will be lead by a trained moderator utilizing a process called public deliberation, where citizens are able to convene, frame, record, and report on the community conversation. This process enables groups to engage in discussion, not debate, about sensitive and potentially contentious issues. The process also identifies "common ground" values, which enable a group to move forward on an issue.

"A town hall conversation is an extremely rewarding, educational process for everyone; it enables groups of people to discover that tough issues can be addressed positively," said Barbara A. Brown of Sumter and Clemson University's Laboratory for Deliberative Dialogue and lead convener for the "conversations."

Through the conversation, AARP South Carolina hopes to hear the challenges its residents are facing as they manage health care for their family and prepare for their financial future. The conversation will promote the sharing of ideas, the understanding of various points of view, and will hopefully lead to further engagement in the political process on the issues of health care and financial security.

Divided We Fail is a nationwide effort lead by AARP to engage the American people, elected officials and the business community to demand bipartisan action, answers and accountability on the nation's most compelling domestic issues—health and financial security for all generations.

By bringing together organizations and individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, AARP is seeking to convene, promote and stimulate public discussion on health and financial security during the presidential campaign of caucuses, primaries and general elections.

South Carolina Divided We Fail coalition members include:

• Blue Cross/Blue Shield of SC
• Merrill Lynch
• Coca-Cola Bottlers
• Bank of America
• The Business Roundtable

Find more information about Divided We Fail online. For more information about deliberative dialogue in South Carolina, contact Barbara Brown at (803) 968-0388 or by e-mail.