Category Archives: Updates

45 Years of CCHCC’s Grassroots Organizing for Health Care Access and Justice!

June 2022

This year, Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is celebrating 45 years of grassroots organizing for health care access and justice! Thanks to your continued support and involvement, CCHCC has had a definitive and lasting impact on our local health care system and human services since 1977.

You might be surprised to know that many of the local programs and services that improve our community’s health, and that we now take for granted, came about as a result of CCHCC’s community organizing work. This includes services such as school breakfast programs in county schools, hospital financial assistance programs for low-income people, nurse-midwives programs, prenatal care for low-income women, public health for county residents, free dental care for low-income county children, and more! These, and many more programs, are lasting legacies which CCHCC, with your involvement and support, has given our community.

In addition, over the past 25 years, CCHCC has worked on significant environmental issues including protecting the Mahomet Aquifer, as well as forcing a clean-up of the toxic site in Champaign’s 5th & Hill neighborhood (our 5th & Hill Neighborhood Rights Campaign, which still continues its work). Additionally, CCHCC has helped bring the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to our community, helping to sign up thousands of community members for affordable health insurance. We have also started and continue to participate in ground-breaking initiatives to reduce incarceration rates and provide services in the Champaign County Jail, as well as working with individuals going through reentry in our community, following incarceration in prisons. And, during the pandemic, we have been working to help keep our community informed and to expand access to resources for hard-hit individuals and families, including providing direct financial assistance as a result of grants we were able to get.

From its inception, CCHCC has been committed to improving the health care system by making it more responsive to consumer needs. Often, this has required uncovering abuses within the systems and challenging unfair policies. Even though these protests have received the most media attention and fanfare, CCHCC is proudest of the program initiatives and positive developments with our local health care system that are a direct result of our work – work that involves bringing consumers together with health care providers to build enduring programs and services that improve people’s lives and health.

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CCHCC Board and Staff – 1986.

Health care news you can use, from your friends at CCHCC!

Please read below for some important health care news, brought to you by Champaign County Health Care Cosumers (CCHCC).

State of Illinois expands Medicaid coverage to ALL immigrants ages 42-54 – regardless of immigration status. Starting July 1, 2022, everyone in Illinois ages 42 and older will have a pathway to healthcare coverage, regardless of their immigration status.

This win is the result of 8 years of campaigning and thousands of hours of work by dozens of organizations and countless individuals. Congratulations to all who have made a phone call, sent an email, shared their story, and helped build this campaign. Because of you, tens of thousands of people in Illinois will have access to healthcare coverage, many for the first time in decades.

Our work isn’t done yet. We’ll keep fighting for healthcare for ALL, until every person in Illinois has access to healthcare coverage, no matter their immigration status. 

Our health is interdependent and we’re all safer when each of us has access to the healthcare we need. Thank you for supporting the fight for coverage for all!

COVID-19 has helped push the U.S. to its highest death total ever. 2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad.

The main reason for the increase in deaths? COVID-19, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on death statistics.

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We are still in the COVID pandemic. CCHCC is here to help you stay safe!

March 28, 2022

The COVID Mask Mandate has ended in most of the U.S. and most of the states. And, unfortunately, and most likely due to political pressures, the CDC has changed its guidelines for measuring risk and keeping communities and individuals safe. But the pandemic is not over, and two new variants are circulating, and more are sure to come – and not all variants will be “mild”. Even so-called “mild” variants have still managed to sicken and kills thousands of people, and produce “long COVID” cases.

Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) urges you to still continue to practice safety measures to keep yourself, your loved ones, and our community safe from COVID. Also, we want to let you know of resources that can help keep you safe.

Mask mandates are over – but we at CCHCC are continuing to mask up. Although the mask mandates are over, the virus is still circulating, and we are still in a pandemic. The pandemic is world-wide, and as long the virus continues to circulate (due to inadequate vaccination rates, reduction of precautions, travel, etc.), there will be new variants, and new cycles of increases in infections.

Remember that the singular purpose of the virus is to replicate itself – this is literally its reason for being – and it can only do that by infecting people. It is a very determined virus, and we are not yet out of the woods with it.

The bottom line is that you can still get infected and sick from the virus, because it is still circulating. People who are at high-risk due to age, pre-existing conditions, autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditions, or unknown genetic conditions, can get very sick and die from this virus. Also, you might be at risk for severe illness and not even know it – not everyone is aware of whether or not they have an underlying condition. But whether you get sick from COVID or not, you can still infect others, and they can get sick.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic on Thursday afternoon May 6 at Salem Baptist Church in Champaign

May 5, 2021

Please help spread the word!

On Thursday, May 6, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) will be holding a free walk-in COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Salem Baptist Church in the 5th & Hill Neighborhood of Champaign.

The Vaccine Clinic is being organized and sponsored by the Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), the 5th & Hill Neighborhood Rights Campaign, and Salem Baptist Church, in partnership with CUPHD.

The Vaccine Clinic is open to any Illinois resident who is 16 years of age and older. No appointment is needed. This is a Walk-In Clinic and everyone is welcome!

WHO: 5th & Hill Neighborhood Rights Campaign, Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Salem Baptist Church

WHAT: COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic – Free and No Appointment Needed!

WHEN: Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Salem Baptist Church – 500 E Park Street, Champaign (corner of Park and 5th)

Please help share this message far and wide!

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Champaign County Health Care Consumers

Rent assistance, vaccinations, and stimulus payments!

March 19, 2021

Many Champaign County residents are struggling financially, as well as struggling to get information that they need to help them get vaccinated, and/or to help them get their stimulus payments. CCHCC is here to help!

You can help our community members by sharing this information! Below are the resources and updates CCHCC wants to share with you.

Rental Assistance in Champaign County
Champaign County’s Regional Planning Commission is offering help to individuals and families who have past due rent, water, power, and sewer bills!

To get help, please visit the RPC’s website.

For rent assistance, you can also see the online application form here.

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