Monday’s Lobby Day rally for single payer health care was a great success, with more than 500 people attending. From the healthcare blog California Healthline:
Third Time’s the Charm for Single Payer?
by David Gorn
The megaphones and what-do-we-want cheers were in full force earlier this week on the steps of the Capitol building. It was all to support passage of a single-payer system in California, which twice already has been passed by the Legislature and vetoed by the governor.
Amanda Foran, an occupational therapist at the California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles who attended the rally, said national reform will help ease some of the problems of health care, but doesn’t get to the root of what she sees every day at work.
“As a clinician, I see patients come into the ER all the time because that’s the only way they can see a doctor. And of course, it’s the most expensive.”
Single-payer fixes health care in a basic and common-sense way, Foran said. Californians would pay into an insurance pool, which would fund health care for the entire population of the state.
“Nobody’s left out,” Foran said. “I’m protected, just like everyone else is protected. It’s a little like immunizations. Everyone is taken care of.”
Read the rest of the article at http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2011/1/single-payer-idea-back-to-the-future.aspx
Sacramento television station KCRA also covered the event. Watch the slideshow here.
Finally, this radio segment by Bay Area public radio station, KALW News, features soundbites from Lobby Day participants and SB 810 sponsor, State Sen. Mark Leno.
Sylvia@californiaonecare.org