March For Our Health

We all have a right to a healthy life. That means a right to healthcare, a right to clean air, clean water, and a clean earth, to healthy food, a right to a job and housing and the right to live a life free of discrimination and oppression.

WE NEED IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL NOW. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the “developed” world that does not guarantee universal health coverage. We pay more for health care and have worse outcomes (http://www.commonwealthfund.org/interactives/2017/july/mirror-mirror/) because our system isn’t built to take care of people, it is built so that private health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies can make more and more money.

Private healthcare in this country is bad enough, but Trump and the GOP are on a mission to make it far worse through cuts to the ACA, Medicare, and Medicaid. We need these programs, and much more.

Medical illness is the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. There are 4 paid lobbyists for every single congressperson in Washington DC and health industry lobbying spending continues to rise as the expectation and discussion of healthcare and medicare for all grows. Both Republicans and Democrats at the state and federal level take millions from those who profit off of the sickness and suffering of US residents. The private health insurance companies don’t want to pay for the health care we need because it would impact their profits. IT’S TIME TO GET PRIVATE PROFITS OUT OF OUR HEALTHCARE.

In California, the Democratic Party has a supermajority, which means that they can pass any law they want. They control the Senate, the House, and the Governorship, but they have shelved SB 562, the bill that would guarantee healthcare as a right for all California residents. We need independent corporate-free representatives who will unapologetically support single payer healthcare.

A HEALTHY LIFE MEANS BREATHING CLEAN AIR AND DRINKING CLEAN WATER. West and Downtown Oakland residents have some of the highest asthma rates in the country, and have higher stroke, heart failure, stress, and diabetes rates than other areas. The higher air and environmental pollution exposes people living in these and other environmentally polluted areas of the Bay Area to worse Health outcomes than higher income communities in other areas (https://www.edf.org/airqualitymaps/pollution-and-health-concerns-west-oakland). Fossil fuel companies, including the 5 corporations that have oil refineries in the Bay Area, do not base their decisions around the health of human beings or the environment. They exploit resources and pollute our communities in search of greater profits.

A HEALTHY LIFE MEANS A LIVING WAGE AND A PLACE TO LIVE. That means enacting a minimum wage that is a living wage, a wage that allows us to purchase healthy food and afford to live where we work if we want to. 3 men in the U.S. have more money than half of the US population, over 160 million people (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/08/bill-gates-jeff-bezos-warren-buffett-wealthier-than-poorest-half-of-us). Corporations don’t want to pay workers a living wage because it would impact their profits, but they wouldn’t be able to make that surplus without profiting off of the real value that the workers’ create. Developers don’t want rent control and affordable housing because it would impact their profits. There are currently over 500,000 unhoused persons in the US at this time (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/the-number-of-homeless-people-in-america-increased-for-the-first-time-in-7-years/) and there are more vacant houses than unhoused people.

A HEALTHY LIFE MEANS LIVING FREE OF DISCRIMINATION AND OPPRESSION. Institutionalized discrimination and oppression lead to economic inequality, higher stress, worse health outcomes and shorter life expectancy.

Our health needs are at odds with the profit motive of private health insurance, pharmaceutical companies, developers and fossil fuel companies.

Stop Trump’s Attacks on Our Health!
Fight cuts to the ACA, Medicare, and Medicaid.

We Need Medicare for All!
Release and pass SB 562 in California as a step towards nationwide Medicare for All.

No More Evictions!
Enact living wage laws, rent control, and publicly fund affordable housing.

Fight Climate Change and Environmental Pollution!
For a mass green jobs program to invest in renewable energy to replace fossil fuels.

No More Institutionalized Racism and Sexism!
Halt all deportations, full legalization for all US Residents, Equal Pay for Equal Work, Equal access to opportunity for all regardless of ability, race, or gender.

https://www.marchforourhealth.org/

Endorsements:

Healthy California
Health Care for All California
Socialist Alternative Bay Area
East Bay Democratic Socialists of America
Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco
Physicians for a National Health Program
National Union of Healthcare Workers
UPTE-CWA Local 9119
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Partnership
UC Berkeley Progressive Student Association – Our Revolution
East Bay Young Democrats
Our Revolution California
Our Revolution East Bay
Our Revolution Contra Costa County
Courage Campaign Contra Costa
El Cerrito Progressives