Woodside, New York.
Make the Road New York’s Small Business United for Health Care Reform Coalition
will publicly announce its formation THURSDAY DECEMBER 11th at 12pm
as a new voice for New York small
businesses committed to addressing the state and nation’s current health care
crisis.  Small businesses are among
the groups hardest hit by this
crisis, lacking the numbers to spread risk or bargain for lower prices.  Though businesses have been typecast as opponents
of health care change, Small Business United for Health Care Reform has found
strong support among locally owned small businesses for rapid action on the
health care front. Small Business United for Health Care Reform will work with
business owners to ensure that their voices are heard in the public debate over
health reform.

"Small businesses are the engine that drives the U.S. economy," said Carmen Ledesma, owner of Parisien
Salon in Woodside, Queens, "but when it comes
to health care we’re the ones getting driven into the ground." Ledesma added,
"It’s small businesses that are going to pick us up out of this recession.  But to make that possible, we need a fix to
the broken health care system that works for small businesses, our employees,
and the communities we serve."

What:   A small
business response to current healthcare crisis:

• Public
  announcement of the launch of a new, formidable small business coalition that
  will act as a voice for small businesses on health care issues. 

• Small business
  leaders from all around New York City
  will talk about their experiences trying to access or losing health insurance
  for themselves and their employees, the effect of this on their businesses’
  bottom lines, and their ideas for a healthcare solution that will work. 

• Leaders will call
  on New York
  and national legislators for action. 

Who:     Small
business leaders who have formed a formidable healthcare coalition of over 200 new small business members in just three
months.  Event speakers will include
local small business owners.

When:   Thursday
December 11th 2008 at Noon.