Luis talks to Sen. Cruz about Health Care

What are the consequences of not being able to access health care for oneself and one’s family?   “When a loved one goes through a health crisis, families suffer the economic consequences, and most of all, emotional consequence,” observes Nina Alverez, producer/director of Critical State (“Estado Critico”), a Univision film.

But statistics alone don’t show the whole picture.  When starting to explore these issues, Univision came across Texas Organizing Project who told about one of their volunteers, a young man names Luis Veloz who had left college to help his family with medical bills piling up because of his father’s three heart attacks.  

The result was “Critical State” (“Estado Critico”) to be shown Sept. 24 in English with Spanish subtitles from 6:30 to 8:30.  The film is a presentation by the Univision, Texas Organizing Project, and First Tuesday Social Justice Film at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff, 3839 w. Kiest Blvd., Dallas. There will also be a panel dicussion by those involved in health care issues.  There is no admission charge. 

Luis wanted to know more about how health care works in other states, Alverez writes, and so he was taken on a journey across the country.  He, and Univision, learned of the long list of problems existing in other places, along with the positive things happening in places like Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, California and, especially, Texas. They discovered that the people hurting the most are also the most vulnerable among us: the young, Hispanics, African Americans, and single moms.

In Miami, Luis spoke to Monica Sinisterra, mother of Ronald Jr who suffers from Cerebral Palsy.  Maria Ruiz talks about how her insurance helped her cover the costs of cancer. treatment.  And Luis gets a tour of the St. John's Well Child & Family Center construction site in California  where he sees Obamacare funding at work.

“I hope that the story of my family, my personal struggles and the struggles of all of the other Latinos in this documentary have inspired our audience. I would like for people to take something goce od away from this. I want people to break down those barriers to healthcare that are in within their control and know that a healthy life really is possible," says Luis, who plans to attend this showing. \

The documentary seeks to highlight opportunities for a Texas Solution for the 1.5 million folks who fall into the gap while encouraging people to take responsibility for their own health.  While the film focuses on the Latino Community, improved, affordable access to health care benefits all individuals who find themselves without adequate insurance or, indeed, no insuranat all.  And a healthy population benefits society as a whole economically, productively and emotionally.