By Nicolle Ma
It's hard to be happy when you're not healthy. With the United States ranking 29 out of 37 industrialized nations in infant mortality and 31 in life expectancy, it's hard to see how Americans could be happy with their current health care situation. To combat the status quo and fight for health care reform, there has been a health care rally on Nobel Drive near Whole Foods every Saturday. The people who show up come from all different backgrounds to carry signs varying from "46 million Americans have no health insurance" to "Like your insurance? You probably haven't used yours". After all, it is inevitable that this health care situation will eventually affect everyone.
Yet health care reform is not easy. It can only begin with a single step -- the final passing of the health care bill with the approval of both the House and the Senate. Although the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "We're not going to rush into anything", this health care rally group emphasizes that fierce urgency of now. Monumental steps have been taken to reform the health care system and it is crucial that the final bill be pushed through without delay. Not since the 1960's when Medicare was introduced has a reform movement of this scale been attempted with separate health care bills going through both branches of Congress. Now we are waiting to see whether the House will pass the Senate version of the bill, if the two branches will strike a compromise by merging their bills, or whether the Senate approves a special budget reconciliation bill to make the changes the House Democrats desire. Sometimes it seems like Congress has already scrutinized every little detail and struck so many compromises that giving up seems like sweet repose. Yet if the American people do not take a stand and fight for health care reform then Congress will not pass the bill.
This attempt at health care reform has been far more successful than the attempt during Clinton's presidency, but it will be nothing more than an attempt if nothing passes. If we start at square one again the country will become deluged with other pressing concerns, e.g. job creation, green energy, reforming our education and encouraging innovation and creativity so that we can thrive as a nation and be competitive in this ever changing world. Admittedly, whatever bill that emerges from Congress will be far from perfect. No one will be completely satisfied. This health care reform bill, however, is an important first step in the right direction in addressing this country's needs. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” This is what motivates this small grassroots movement to give up an hour of their time every Saturday. Come and join us in the fight for health care reform.*
* For more information, please contact ncma@ucsd.edu
Health Care Reform Rally - Saturday May 8th
Think the health care reform movement is over? Far from it! UCSD and
SDSU students will join forces to take part in a health care rally for the
Single Payer System for California because there is still much work to be
done. This health care rally will take place on Saturday, May 8th, from
11 AM - 12 noon on Nobel Drive and Villa La Jolla Drive (near Whole
Foods). For more information, please contact Nicolle at ncma@ucsd.edu.
