Physicians for Progress is organizing an public informational forum on single-payer healthcare, with an experienced panel of speakers/physicians.
- Who: Physicians for Progress – Ventura County is a chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)
- When: Saturday Feb. 1st 3:00- 5:00 PM
- Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, 5654 Ralston Street
Why is this so urgent now? Here’s a selection of issues that affect every person living in America.
- Profit over people: A veteran had his prosthetic legs repossessed by a private company. The former UN Secretary denounced our healthcare system as “politically and morally wrong.“
- Young people: Young adults who’ve aged off their parents’ plans are dying trying to stretch out expensive insulin supplies.
- Children: 400,000 children have been dropped from Medicaid under this administration. Poor healthcare in childhood could have ramifications throughout their lives.
- Medical bill “bake sales”: A third of GoFundMe campaigns are for medical bills, and that 25% are to aid under-insured patients. Begging strangers for help to pay medical bills does not happen in other first world countries.
- Corporations are cutting back: Even big companies, like FedEx and Amazon, are paring back health benefits to their workers and restricting out-of-network coverage. Many are now steering employees towards telehealth options and in-plan provider networks.
- “Choice” is a myth: The healthcare industry pays millions to gaslight Americans into supporting the private insurance model. Read the whole thread here.
- Minorities suffer more: insurance coverage and healthcare access remains unequal among minority populations.
- Living in your car: Going bankrupt over medical bills is a realistic possibility, even for those with health insurance? This is a unique issue for America.When experts from Japan and Europe were about the prevalence of medical bankruptcy in their countries, some had trouble even comprehending the question.
- Dumped on a sidewalk: While Trump and his GOP plan to cut Medicare and Medicaid, the elderly, a demographic that is growing fast, are being kicked out of nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
- Not near enough to save you: Nearly 80% of rural areas are now designated as “medically underserved” or “medical deserts”. So are a number of inner city minority communities. Some areas are lucky enough to get this group of volunteers to set up tents for a day or two to help with medical needs, including dental and vision care, just like they would do in any third world nation with inadequate access to healthcare.
- Trick
or treatfor seniors: In October, Trump signed a executive order that, although titled “Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors”, turns more of Medicare over to the private sector, while dismantling safeguards on health care access, shifting costs to beneficiaries, and limiting “choice.” - Still too expensive: workers making $25K or less are often priced outof their employers’ insurance plans
- What is wrong with us?: Our current healthcare system is NOT #1, no matter what Trump or the GOP says. Here’s what other countries do with much better outcomes.
- The worst is set to return: If the GOP-funded lawsuit to kill the Affordable Care Act is successful, the days of insurance denial for “existing conditions“, insurance cancellation through “rescissions”, uninsured young people and hefty surtaxes on older Americans will come roaring back. Trump has already tried to weaken protections against discrimination based on existing health conditions.
Become a resource of accurate healthcare information for your family and social circle.
Watch this video.
We are ALL are in this fight, not just doctors and patients! Healthcare issues affect every part of our economy. Here are both the 10-minute and the full 58 minute versions.
In the meantime, call your legislators!
Tell them that we are watching their positions on healthcare carefully and we require them to do more than take money from industry lobbyists who’ve been mobilized to destroy any movement to a more equitable healthcare system. We require positive change to occur.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to know what Rep/Sen. is doing about [INSERT your concerns about how healthcare access and/or maintaining health insurance impacts your life and that of your family, friends, coworkers and social circle.]
Here are just a few examples:
- What are [Rep/Sen.] doing about dealing with an aging society and it’s impacts on all parts of the healthcare system?
- What are [Rep/Sen.] doing to increase access for children, the poor, minorities and communities judged to be “healthcare deserts”? (Brownley bill H.R.2094S.1034 here.)
- What are [Rep/Sen.] doing to stop “surprise” healthcare bills, and medical bankruptcies?
- What are [Rep/Sen.] doing to stop the sale of inadequate healthcare policies?
- “Medicare for all” – Reps: Did they signed on to H.R.2452 – Medicare for all? (Rep-check here. Carbajal was a cosigner, Brownley was not.) or Rep. Jayapal’s version H.R. 1384 (Rep-check here. Carbajal was a cosigner, Brownley was not.)
- Senators: What are your senators doing to stop the rising costs of medicine? The House passed H.R.3 –“Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act” which would cap drug costs for Medicare, Medicare and complying insurance plans and provide older Americans some basic dental, vision and hearing coverage. (Rep-check here. Carbajal was a cosigner, Brownley was not. ) Where is the equivalent bill in the Senate?
- “Medicare for all” – Senators: Did they sign on to Sen. Sanders S.1129? (Senator-check here. Sen. Harris cosigned, Feinstein hasn’t)
Contact:
Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email,DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
and Senator Harris: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884
Who is my representative/senator?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 