California Activist Coalition It's OUR Healthcare has launched a new SMS campaign broadcasting text messages on a screen in Sacramento. The campaign is in response to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest health care proposal, which IOH says disregards issues of affordability, deductibles and coverage. The legislature is holding its first hearing on the issue today.
As far as we know, this is the first time that someone in the US has run an advocacy text-to-screen campaign. The screen is a live feed of SMS messages sent from people in California. The campaign uses mCommons as its vendor.
On its website, IOH says that people can "text-message the governor" by sending an SMS with the letters IOH to short code 30644. You will receive an SMS response from IOH that will allow you to send a message that will then be broadcast on the screen. A live feed of the screen is available here on the IOH website. Recent messages have included:
"The hospital I work at does not serve medi-cal patients in east San Jose. Please sign into law affordable healthcare for all Californians."
"I am a single income mother putting 2 kids through college. There's no way I can afford a $5000 deductible for each of us."
"Everyone should be covered. I have a 1 year old disabled son and if he ever needs medical attention I have to pay out of pocket."
We'll have a more detailed follow-up article on the campaign tomorrow after we've had a chance to speak with the organizers. In the meantime, keep watching the live feed!
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