The articles below are taken from the MoSP (Missouri Single Payer) Winter 2017 Newsletter. Their newsletters are available in PDF format at http://mosp.us/newsletters.htm
Reflections on the Women’s March in DC
What surprised me most about the Women’s March on January 22 was how many of the people there were marching for the first time. The march really started for me with the ride to the airport with friends and the flight to DC. Before I took my seat, a flight attendant asked how many of us were going to the Women’s March? The passengers erupted in cheers. The flight attendants thanked us for marching and for being strong. As we deplaned, the flight attendants thanked us again, saying they wished they could join us. More cheers. We wore our pink hats to Michael’s for supplies to make signs. The store was filled with people buying supplies and sharing stories. One woman who came from New York on the train said that the conductor was wearing a pink hat. Another, who drove from Maine, talked about the camaraderie at the gas stations. Excitement and anticipation was in the air everywhere we went in DC.
The morning of the march we walked, signs in hand, to the metro stop. On the way we passed an SUV of people with signs and hats. They told us the metro station was too crowded to get on. They got an Uber and asked us to join them. The driver dropped us off near the Iwo Jima statue. We walked past Arlington Cemetery and across the Memorial Bridge into DC with hundreds of other marchers. This was a wonderful way to approach the march as we walked past the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool (reflecting on other marches), the World War II memorial, and the Washington Monument on our way to the rally. The extraordinary crowds made it impossible to meet up with our friends. We only got as far as 9th St. on Independence Avenue by pushing our way through. We could hear and watch the speakers on the screens set up at several locations, but never saw the stage. To say that the march was inspirational is an understatement. The marchers came from all walks of life and orientations, and ranged from older people in wheelchairs to children on their parents’ shoulders. The signs that people carried were serious, humorous, and profound. Many expressed support for the Affordable Care Act.
Celebrities like Michael Moore and Cecile Richards got the crowd cheering. All of the speakers and performers energized us. One of the most moving moments came well after the march was to have started. Janelle Monae brought to the stage the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and other young black men who had been killed and led a song to which we responded in chorus, “Say his name.” One speaker asked, “How many of you have never been to a march before?” A very large portion of the crowd responded in cheers. This encouraged me. Continued actions across the country and in Missouri gives me hope. It was not just a moment. After the march, some friends from Columbia met up at my cousin’s house in Arlington, VA for snacks and conversation. They were first-time marchers, and were all inspired to commit to working for change. One of them, I’m happy to say, said she wants to make single-payer health care her issue.
– Margie Sable, DPH
Bring the US up to the world’s health care standards
The United States is unique among the nations of the industrial world. We are the only one who has not provided all of its citizens with universal health care. Obamacare was a step in the right direction but is not the solution to our health care problems. Other industrialized nations have recognized that health care is a basic right for their people. Getting sick is not an option. Are we a democracy or a plutocracy where only the rich can afford adequate health care? It is high time that we bring this country up to the health care standards of the rest of the industrialized world.
The World Health Organization has ranked us 37th out of the 191 nations surveyed for overall performance. The Commonwealth Fund, an independent research organization, found that of 19 wealthiest nations studied, France and Japan provided their citizens with the best health care. The United States ranked 15th at a cost of about $9,000 per patient, $3,000 more than the next highest, Norway. All the nations surveyed had universal health care. We did rank first in one category, bankruptcies due to medical costs. 700,000 per year compared to near zero for the other countries.
There has been much criticism of the Canadian Single Payer system, which they call Medicare and from which our Medicare system was modeled. If you ask Canadians, they will tell you that they would not be without it, notwithstanding the long waiting periods for some optional treatments. Let us become a first- class nation. Extend our Medicare for seniors to cover everyone now.
– Alan Ranford, letter published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jan. 7