Right Care Alliance

Elder and Long Term Care Council Meeting
2020-08-05 16:30 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
A meeting for the Elder and Long Term Care Council

Manifesto Maestros
2020-08-05 08:00 - 17:00
Weekly meeting for study group facilitators

Virtual coffee hour with Vikas Saini
2020-04-17 10:00 - 23:00
Join other RCA members for a virtual coffee hour to catch up and connect on Friday April 17, at 10am.
We will also have Vikas Saini, RCA co-chair, at the coffee hour to chat about the new PBS documentary Blood Sugar Rising, that comes out on Wednesday April 15.
For information on how to log in, email organize@rightcarealliance.org.

Check out new PBS Documentary "Blood Sugar Rising"
2020-04-15 21:00 - 23:00
Check out PBS’ new documentary Blood Sugar Rising: America’s Hidden Diabetes Epidemic, premiering Wed, April 15 at 9m EDT on your local PBS channel or online. This documentary features our very own Dr. Vikas Saini, as well as insulin activists who have been working tirelessly for years. Catch the documentary Wednesday night, and then come to our coffee hour on Friday to discuss.
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Health Care Justice and the 2020 Election: A Public Forum
2020-01-30 18:30 - 20:30 | Cleveland Park Public Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC, DC, 20008, United States
Join us in D.C. on Thursday, January 30 for a close look at the Democratic candidates’ proposals for fixing the multiple crises in the U.S. health care system.
At this forum — the first in a series — we’ll examine the major candidates’ ideas for making U.S. health care more universal, comprehensive, accessible, and affordable at the point of care.
Would their plans effectively repair the injustices in our current non-system? What kinds of tradeoffs are involved in their plans? Are there important problems that they’ve completely ignored?
We don’t take corporate money and we aren’t affiliated with any candidates for public office. Everyone is welcome. No expertise required.

Pharma Blood-Money Protest for Insulin-Rationing Victims
2019-11-16 10:00 - 13:00 | Galaxy Park, Cambridge, 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, United States
Insulin corporations are killing people with diabetes, so for World Diabetes Day, we’re delivering blood-soaked bags of money to Pharma’s front door.
We WON’T let Pharma hide their guilt.
Their predatory pricing led to the insulin-rationing deaths of ten Americans in the last two years. In honor of Jesimya, Jada, Josh, Kayla, Meaghan, Micah, Jesse, Alec, Antavia, and Shane, we must keep the pressure on.
Parents and family of the deceased will be traveling to the event and need your support. Boston physicians will declare a humanitarian crisis. Massachusetts citizens with diabetes will share how they are suffering and scared.
The fight is right here and right now. NO MORE DEATHS.
What you can do:
Attend in-person and make sure to RSVP on Facebook.
Participate by choosing to sponsor a bucket of blood.

Women's Health Webinars!
2019-05-01 08:00 - 17:00
The RCA Women’s Health Council, in partnership with Frontier Nursing University and IHI, is hosting a series of Women’s Health Webinars. Here’s the schedule:

July 23, 8pm ET
Caitlin Krause MPH, Holly Valentine MPH
Decision aids to help women choose their birth site and pain medication

October 29, 8pm ET

Eleni Tsigas, The Pre-Eclampsia Foundation, Miranda Klassen, Amniotic Fluid Embolism Foundation
Patient advocacy in birth and best practices for safety

January 2020, TBD
Raul Valdes-Peres, Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
Transparency in women’s health outcomes, quality, and costs

How to Log in:

BigBlueButton at FNU
Room: Digital summit
Password: [REDACTED]

April 30th action at Harvard Medical School
2019-04-30 07:30 - 09:30
On Tuesday April 30, leaders in biotech, health care administration, and government will be attending an event at the Longwood Fund — and we will be there too! We are holding a protest in front of the meeting building, to make sure the attendees can’t ignore the insulin pricing crisis. We will have speakers, chanting, and direct actions.
Our next meetings for to plan the event will be April 17 from 9-10am by phone and April 25 from 7-8:30 in person.

For more information and to RSVP, contact organize@rightcarealliance.org.

PhRMA Demonstration
2019-04-25 17:00
We are holding our first demonstration on April 25 at 5pm in front of the PhRMA building. At 5:00 we will gather downtown and let PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbyists, that they can’t hide behind anonymous concrete walls anymore. We’ll be making signs at the happy hour event on the 18th to prepare.

April Sign-making Happy Hour
2019-04-18 17:00
Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 5 p.m.
Location: Republic, 6939 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912 (the back room)
Republic Menu: $8 cocktails, plus beer, wine and dinner
Parking and Metro: Republic is about a quartermile west of the Takoma Park metro stop (roughly 5 blocks). There is also plenty of street parking and a lot nearby at 7000 Carroll Ave.
Does our healthcare system cause you more anxiety and frustration than a government shutdown? Are you and your loved ones able to get all the medications you need? Do high drug prices make you wonder whether you will be able to make rent?
We are holding our first demonstration on April 25th! At 5:00 we will gather downtown and let PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbyists, that they can’t hide behind anonymous concrete walls anymore. But we can’t go empty handed. During our happy hour this month, we will be making signs posters to convey our message to those who make sure the drug companies get the most bang for their bucks, bucks patients just don’t have.
Even if you can’t come to our protest, come out and make a sign or add your message to one of ours. We are happy to carry your questions and comments with us.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Healthcare Happy Hour @ Takoma Beverage Company
2019-03-21 17:00 - 19:00
Join the DC chapter for a health care happy hour at Takoma Beverage Company on March 21, 5-7 pm. These casual meetings are a chance to meet other members of RCDC and talk about our plans to tackle high drug prices and our broken healthcare system.
RSVP to DC@rightcarealliance.org or just meet us there!

Community Action Forum: Busting High Drug Prices
2019-03-16 16:00 - 18:00
The Right Care Alliance DC chapter invites you to join us at a Community Action Forum about Busting High Drug Prices, Featuring U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin.

Saturday, March 16, 2018
4-6 p.m.
Northwood High School
919 University Blvd West, Silver Spring, MD 20901

U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin will discuss out-of-control drug prices and the fight to build a pharmaceutical system in the public interest.

Additional speakers include:

Dr. Vikas Saini, Co-Chair, Right Care Alliance and President of the Lown Institute
Shannon Brownlee, Co-Chair, Right Care Alliance and Senior Vice President of the Lown Institute
Barbara Dominguez, DNP for Unity Health and Washington Adventist Hospital
Dr. Natalie Spicyn, internist and pediatrician
Jessie Alston, patient activist with AYUDA in Puerto Rico and Type 1 diabetic
Alex Lawson, Executive Director, Social Security Works

Healthcare Happy Hour @ Politics & Prose
2019-02-21 17:00 - 19:00 | politics and prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW,, Washington, DC, DC, 20008, United States
Join the DC chapter for a health care happy hour at the Politics and Prose Bookstore (downstairs) on Thursday, February 21, 5-7 pm. These casual meetings are a chance to meet other members of RCDC and talk about our plans to tackle high drug prices and our broken healthcare system.
RSVP to DC@rightcarealliance.org or just meet us there!

Sanofi Protest/Die-in - Right Care Boston
2018-11-16 11:30 - 16:30 | Sanofi Corporation, 640 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA, United States
Mothers to deliver ashes of children who died rationing insulin to Cambridge drug corporation
Civil disobedience, die-in planned by drug price activists
The mothers of two young adults with diabetes who died while rationing insulin last year will deliver the ashes of their children to Cambridge pharma corporation Sanofi. The mothers will be joined by activists from at least five local groups that are demanding a reduction in insulin prices so that no more people die.
Sanofi is one of the Big Three manufacturers of insulin that are charging as much as a 5,000 percent markup on their products. Three people with diabetes died while rationing last year, including the children of the two mothers, Antroinette Worsham and Nicole Smith-Holt, who will be leading the protest.
DETAILS
Friday, November 16
11:30am – Gather at Micro Center, 730 Memorial Dr., Cambridge
12:00pm – Arrive at Sanofi Corporation, 640 Memorial Dr., Cambridge
Protest and civil disobedience against the high price of insulin. Marching, chants, die-in, speakers, sign-holding, and delivery of ashes.
Join patients, nurses, doctors, healthcare professionals, students, and others to protest outrageous insulin prices. Sponsoring organizations include the RCA (Right Care Alliance), the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), PNHP (Physicians for a National Health program), Harvard Medical School Racial Justice Coalition, and others.
View the PRESS RELEASE
Download flyer for the Sanofi event (pdf)
Download media alert for Sanofi event (pdf)
Fore more information, email us at organize@rightcarealliance.org

Affordable Insulin Concert/Speakout - Gainesville, FL
2018-11-04 13:00 - 16:30 | bo diddley plaza, Gainesville, FL
On Sunday, November 4th from 1 PM-4:30 PM, Right Care Gainesville is partnering with the UF Diabetes Institute to hold an open-air concert and speak-out to raise awareness of the high prices of insulin. We plan to highlight the many challenges those with Diabetes now face – Insulin costs (nearly $1,000/month, liquid gold), glucose monitoring costs and logistics, and access to health care.
There will be music, educational tables, speakers to present their personal stories and perspectives, and caregivers from UF Health to speak about their challenges trying to provide effective care to our diabetic population.
To join the event or volunteer, email Fred Southwick (fsouthwick@gmail.com)

Gainesville Insulin Prices Town Hall
2018-07-31 08:00 - 17:00
Why is insulin so expensive? How are patients coping? What can we do to help?
The Gainesville, FL chapter of the Right Care Alliance is hosting a town hall meeting on Tuesday, July 31 to discuss these questions.
Speakers include:

Dr. Mark Atkinson, Director of the University of Florida Diabetes Institute
Sidney Look, Person with type 1 diabetes and UF medical student
Dr. Brittany Bruggeman, UF diabetes fellow
Jeff Santere, former diabetes patient and RCA leader

Where: Reitz Union hotel
When: Tuesday, July 31, 5-6 pm
How: Everyone is welcome to come, no RSVP necessary. For more information about the event, contact southf@ufl.edu.

Panel on drug price collusion and corruption
2018-05-02 18:30 - 20:30 | The Lown Institute Office, 21 Longwood Ave, Brookline, MA, 02446, United States
Join us Wednesday May 2 at 6:30pm at the RCA Headquarters to discuss collusion and corruption in drug prices with two health care law experts. The event will be broadcast on Facebook Live starting at 7pm ET.

Speakers include:

Hannah Brennan, a member of the legal team bringing a class-action suit against insulin manufacturers will give us a history of the case, challenges, and important updates.
Alex Arnold, a law student at Boston University and member of Right Care Boston, will speak about the role of Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) in increasing drug costs, and the viability of forming a publicly funded state-run PBM. This session will be recorded live on Facebook.

The event will be at our office, 21 Longwood Ave in Brookline. We’re a quick walk from the Coolidge Corner T station, and limited parking is available. Please come a few minutes early to get a parking spot!
** The second floor of our building can only be accessed by stairs. Please let us know if you have trouble climbing stairs and we will provide an alternative accessible site. **
RSVP using this form below:

Rally Against Insulin Profiteering
2018-04-08 16:00 - 17:00 | national portrait gallery, 8th and F Streets, NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Join the Right Care Alliance and #Insulin4All advocates on Sunday, April 8th for a demonstration regarding high insulin prices in the U.S.
Sign up on Facebook here!
The hashtag #Insulin4all was created by T1 International, an organization that has been fighting against high insulin prices for many years. Check out their website and follow them on Twitter!

People are dying because they cannot afford their insulin. About seven million Americans are dependent on insulin to sustain their life. High insulin prices are causing more Americans to ration insulin to make it last longer – a dangerous practice that led to the deaths of two young men last year. We hope to create pressure to reduce insulin prices and improve transparency on drug prices in the U.S.
NOTE: We will be meeting near the Portrait Gallery on F street between 7th and 8th street NW.
Bring yourself and, if you wish, a sign and a chair! We will be leading chants and will have patients share their stories.

Sign up on Facebook here!

RCA Rally Against Drug Profiteers
2018-03-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Joslin Park, 1 Joslin Place, Boston, MA 02215, 1 Joslin Place, Boston, MA, 02215
The Right Care Alliance is standing in solidarity with those who have suffered needless, preventable deaths from the lack of access to medicines they need to survive. We call on institutions in the Longwood Medical Area, including some of the world’s most prestigious medical innovators and health providers, to join our fight to improve access to these essential medicines, starting with insulin.
We will be holding a march in Joslin Park, next to the Joslin Diabetes Center. Join us to hear from patients, talk to clinicians in the area about insulin prices, and make some noise!
For materials, go to the Right Care Boston page
Sign up on Facebook here!

Insulin Cost Tweetchat
2018-03-26 12:00 - 13:00
Join us on Twitter on March 26, 12-1pm ET for an interactive discussion about the problem of out-of-control insulin prices! We’ll be chatting about how insulin costs have increased, how far people are willing to go to get insulin, whether Big Pharma’s justifications hold water, and more. You don’t want to miss it!
Here’s how to participate:

Follow @RightCareNow on Twitter
Log onto Twitter at 12pm ET on Monday, March 26
Use the hashtags #Insulin4all and #RightCare to follow the conversation
Get chatting!

The hashtag #Insulin4all was created by T1 International, an organization that has been fighting against high insulin prices for many years. Check out their website and follow them on Twitter!

Insulin 101
Insulin is a hormone that helps turn blood sugar into energy. Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce or respond to insulin. For the 1.23-3 million people in the US with Type 1 diabetes, their pancreas doesn’t produce insulin. Without taking insulin, people with Type 1 diabetes cannot turn food into energy, and will die in a matter of days.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body develops a resistance to insulin. About 4 million people with Type 2 diabetes use insulin to manage their blood sugar and avoid long-term complications like vision impairment and nerve damage.
Over the past few decades, the price of insulin has risen to astronomical levels. In 1996, the list price of a vial of insulin (about a month’s worth) was $21. In 2010, it rose to $112, and again in 2017 to $275 a vial! The reason? The “big three” companies that manufacture insulin have no regulations on what they can charge and no generic competition, so they raise prices to whatever the market will bear.
The Right Care Alliance launched a campaign in mid-February targeting high insulin prices, to organize clinicians, patients, and the public around this crucial issue. Learn more about the campaign, read more facts about insulin, and sign up for our direct action on our campaign page.

Insulin Price Write-a-thon!
2018-03-10 10:00 - 14:00
Are you mad about out-of-control insulin price increases? Write about it!
As part of the Right Care Alliance drug price campaign, we’re holding a Write-a-thon to raise awareness about out-of-control insulin prices and advocate for policies to make insulin affordable, by writing op-eds and letters to be published in local media.
To sign up, fill out the form below:

Write-a-thon details
On March 10th starting at 10am EST, chapter members will gather in person or on Skype to write op-eds and letters to the editor, and then submit them to our local papers. There will be groups in cities all over the country, so you can participate no matter where you are.
Participants can write collaboratively, with partners, or as solo authors. You can write either with a partner in the same location as you, or we can match you with somebody in a different city. You don’t have to be an experienced writer to participate. Editors will be available, and help will be provided to get your pieces published.
Link to videochat
https://zoom.us/j/794700141 Or if you need to use phone instead of video chat, here’s the phone number: 669-900-6833, access code [REDACTED]#
If you have not used Zoom video chat you will need to download the application. This only takes a few minutes.

Diabetes patients & experts - Facebook Live interview
2018-02-27 19:30
RSVP for this event on Facebook
The RCA is kicking off our campaign to lower drug prices with a Facebook Live event on February 27th at 7:30pm.
On Facebook Live, RCA leaders will be interviewing the patients who feel the effects of high insulin prices, and the clinicians who treat them.
Panelists include:

Leigh Simmons, primary care doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital
David Nathan, director of the diabetes center at Massachusetts General Hospital
Chris Noble, patient and activist with Partners in Health
Dierdre Waxman, patient and social worker
Shannon Brownlee (Moderator) – Health care journalist and co-chair of the Right Care Alliance

The event will be filmed in Boston, but other chapters are gathering together to watch the Livestream and participate in the discussion remotely.
Watch the interview live on the Right Care Alliance Facebook Page. And contact the chapter leader in your city to learn more about a local meetup to watch.

MLK Day health care activism Teach-in
2018-01-15 08:00 - 15:00
Are you a health care professional looking to organize others in your field for health care reform, but you don’t know where to start? Or are you an activist or community member who wants more tools for organizing around issues like single-payer health care or drug prices?
The Right Care Alliance can provide the specialized knowledge, framing strategies, and organizing tactics you need to be an effective advocate for health care reform.
Come to the MLK Day Health Care Activism Teach-in, hosted by the Right Care Alliance on Monday, January 15th in Cambridge, MA. Speakers and topics include

Moving toward single payer across the country – Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer
Primary care as the foundation for a healthy America – Dr. Steven Martin, University of Massachusetts Professor of Family Medicine
Regulating drug prices: Options, tactics, and challenges – Ali Greenberg & Chris Noble, Universities United for Essential Medicines
Gun violence and systemic racism – Dr. Rishi Rattan, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Neighborhood health stations: A model for community health – Former Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, Dr. Michael Fine
The epidemic of medical overuse – Lown Vice President Shannon Brownlee and radiologist and activist Jill Wruble

The session will run from about 8am-3pm. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included. Admission is $50 but scholarships are available in certain cases; just email organize@rightcarealliance.org with any questions or concerns. Register for the Teach-in using this form.
Students can register for the event at a reduced rate with this link.

Open House Party and "TED Talk"
2017-11-10 18:00 - 20:00
Come join us for an Open House Holiday Party on Friday, November 10 from 6-8pm. We’ll have drinks and snacks galore. This is a great chance to get to know other Lown and Right Care members, and can be a perfect way to introduce your friends and family to our work and movement. We will be piloting a presentation about the Right Care Alliance and need feedback from you and others who know nothing about us!
RSVP to rsvp@lowninstitute.org.

Right Care Boston Listening Booth
2017-10-17 11:30 - 13:00 | bu law school
Come to the listening booth at the BU Law School for Right Care Action Week! Email organize@rightcarealliance.org to RSVP.

Right Care Action Week 2017
2017-10-15 00:00 - 2017-10-21 00:00
Mark your calendars for October 15-21! This year for Right Care Action Week, we are uniting our communities to expose and protest the reasons behind high health care costs.
See the Right Care Action Week page to learn more about this year’s events and to get involved!

Join us for an op-ed write-a-thon!
2017-08-06 | Boston, MA
We’re getting the word out about Right Care.
Do you have a unique viewpoint on drug prices, over-medication, access to care, or another right care topic? Are you interested in writing something for local media but don’t know where to start? Right Care Boston is hosting an op-ed write-a-thon to help writers like you craft an effective and persuasive piece.
The write-a-thon will take place Saturday, August 5th in Boston, MA and there will be groups skyping in from New York and Austin, TX. The session will include a workshop on op-ed writing, designated writing time, and personalized feedback.
If you’re interested in attending please contact Marlene Beggelman at marlene@enhancedmd.com. Participants should be prepared with an op-ed topic and rough draft or outline.

Right Care Boston open meeting
2017-07-12 19:00 - 21:00 | The Lown Institute Office, 21 Longwood Ave, Brookline, MA, 02446, United States
Join the Right Care Alliance Boston chapter for an open meeting! We will be discussing next steps for our two new campaigns – lowering drug prices and piloting neighborhood health stations in Boston, as well as following up on our recent town hall on electronic medical records.

EMR Town Hall, Tuesday, 6/20 at WBUR
2017-06-20 18:00 - 19:30
“They are the medical equivalent of texting while driving, sucking the soul out of the practice of medicine while failing to improve care.”
Three leading Boston doctors wrote that line about electronic medical record systems in a CommonHealth post headlined “Death By A Thousand Clicks.” The post went instantly viral.
Now, you’re invited to help keep the conversation going. Join WBUR’s Carey Goldberg, host of CommonHealth, as she moderates a panel discussion about what electronic medical record systems are doing to health care, and what is to be done about it.
This event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
Panelists
Dr. John Levinson, cardiologist and internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he also served as vice president of IT for MGH physicians.
Dr. Vikas Saini, cardiologist and president of the Lown Institute, and co-chair of the Right Care Alliance, a clinician and patient led health care reform movement.
Dr. Galina Tan, chief resident at Cambridge Health Alliance, working on an EMR curriculum for primary care residents.
Details
Tuesday, June 20
6:00 pm – Light Refreshments
6:30 – 7:30 pm – Discussion
WBUR, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston MA.
