Right Care Alliance

Affordable Insulin Concert/Speakout - Gainesville, FL
2018-11-04 13:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | 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.
