Summary & Recording: Winning Healthcare for All, lessons from the U.S.

Last week at our Winning Healthcare for All Forum, advocates Anna Álvarez from Health Access California and Olivia Quiroz from the Oregon Latino Health Coalition shared powerful lessons on how they successfully expanded health care access to all migrants in their states, regardless of immigration status. 

In the discussion, moderated by Shazeen Suleman from the Decent Work and Health Network, we explored the power of coalition-building, shifting public narratives, and leveraging strategic networks to win healthcare for all. 

Their experiences offer invaluable lessons for our fight in Ontario. If you missed it or want to revisit the discussion, we’re excited to share the recording, key takeaways, and how you can get involved below!

Watch the Recording

If you missed the discussion or want to revisit key insights, you can access the full webinar recording here:

Key Takeaways

• Building a Broad Base & Coalitions: Success in both California and Oregon was driven by strong coalitions between healthcare organizations, immigrant rights groups, unions, and community advocacy groups. SEIU and other unions played a key role by mobilizing healthcare workers and using their political influence to push for change – but they only did so when their members pushed for it from the floor! 
• Changing the Narrative: At the start of these campaigns, there was little public and political support for expanding healthcare access to migrants. Through storytelling and public health messaging—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic—advocates reframed the issue as one of community health and economic justice.
• Legislative Advocacy: Identifying key legislative champions was crucial. Advocates built relationships with decision-makers and hospital leadership, targeted influential committees, and seized political windows of opportunity to push their proposals forward.
• Challenges & Resilience: Success took years of sustained effort. Budget uncertainties and shifting political landscapes were major challenges, requiring advocates to remain vigilant and adaptable. Despite rising anti-migrant rhetoric during the first Trump administration, strong grassroots organizing and strategic policymaker engagement ensured these historic wins.

What Does This Mean for Ontario?

In Ontario, we had a temporary program during the pandemic that provided healthcare access to uninsured migrants, but it was cut in 2023. Despite this, we’ve seen growing support from healthcare institutions and unions. Our movement is gaining traction, and there is still time to push for permanent healthcare access for all.

What Can You Do? 

We’re building momentum in Ontario to win healthcare for all - let us know if you’d like to get involved with one or more of the following actions by emailing Anwaar at [email protected]:

✔ Engaging in direct advocacy with migrants navigating the healthcare system.
✔ Sharing or collecting stories as part of our social media campaign to shift the public narrative.
✔ Joining a strategy meeting to push for institutional and policy change.

Together, we can win healthcare for all. Let’s keep organizing, building power, and ensuring that no one is excluded from care.