PIX: Historic Healthcare Rally in Sacto

by California Nurses Shum [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

Over 1,000 nurses and patients marched on the California State Capitol today to demand guaranteed healthcare, at an event sponsored by the National Nurse Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association. 

This is why we're going to have genuine healthcare reform: because we have a beloved, engaged constituency pushing for it.  What do the insurers have? A bunch of mercenary lobbyists.  We're linking to some pictures here...take a look.

Why are we calling it guaranteed healthcare?  Because today, no matter what insurance  you have, you can be denied care for any reason.  No other nation in the world has their healthcare set up this way, and neither should ours.  State Senator Sheila Kuehl has proposed SB840,  a guaranteed healthcare bill with single-payer financing: patients choose a private caregiver who is paid from a non-profit, statewide fund.  And here's what a health care hero looks like:

We also debuted a new Web site at this rally, devoted to one simple thing: letting people upload videos telling the story of their mis-treatment at the hands of the healthcare insurance industry.  We all know it's a crisis-but we need to see the faces behind the crisis to be moved to action.  Go visit GauranteedHealthcare.org and upload your story.

Oh?and those "individual" and "employer mandate" plans pushed from Massachusetts to California?  A Trojan horse for the insurance industry?and more cruel denials of care.