Featuring Libby Schaaf, mayor of Oakland, California. Along with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Mayor Schaaf co-founded Mayors for Medicare for All, a coalition of American mayors who believe that health care is a human right.
Is healthcare inequality more evident to America’s mayors than to federal representatives? How differently might the pandemic have played out if Medicare for All had already been in place? Did the link between employment and health insurance force Americans to keep working – not just for the income but also for the insurance? Libby Schaaf, Oakland mayor, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss how coronavirus suffering in the U.S. might have been reduced.
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America’s Avoidable Tragedy?
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Opening MUSIC – “Talk Back” 10 seconds, fade down
Welcome to Code WACK!, your podcast on America’s broken healthcare system and how Medicare for All could help. I’m your host Brenda Gazzar. Today we’ll continue our discussion on Mayors for Medicare for All, a new national organization that aims to combat healthcare disparities in America.
(Stinger music – 5-seconds)
Oakland, California Mayor Libby Schaaf has teamed up with Long Beach, California Mayor Robert Garcia in launching Mayors for Medicare for All amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Welcome to Code WACK!, Mayor Schaaf.
Schaaf: Well, thank you for having me.
Q: Thank you. So what are the goals of Mayors for Medicare for All? And why do you think mayors signing on to the cause could help get it implemented in America?
Schaaf: You know Mayors for Medicare for All have just three simple goals. One, to sign on at least 100 mayors by the end of this calendar year to the effort. Two, to get a resolution passed and adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors stating support for a Medicare for All bill to be passed by this next Congress. And three, to get that bill passed. And who better than mayors to deliver that united voice from America’s people to our federal representatives who – I just have to say – have felt frustratingly disconnected from the reality that we are experiencing on the ground every day, the suffering, the injustice that we are seeing in the people that we live amongst as mayors so those are the three goals of this initiative. They are simple, they are achievable and we are going to get this done.
Q: Got it. So what do you think would have been different if Medicare for All had been a fact on the ground before the pandemic?
Schaaf: Imagine. Imagine all the suffering, the loss, the grieving, the death that would have been avoided if we had Medicare for All before COVID-19 hit. Imagine all of what we could have done if we had this system in place for families to rely on for our essential workers to stay alive and continue to not only provide these vital services for us but to bring a safe and reasonable paycheck home without it costing their very lives and the lives of those that they love. That is what would have happened if we had had Medicare for All in place before this pandemic hit our shores. What a tragedy. What an absolute tragedy that could have been avoided. When you look at the death rate and the infection rate in America, compared to other countries, the only other countries that come close are Brazil and India. That is outrageous. This could have all been avoided if we had Medicare for All.
Q: So how do you think some of those deaths would have been avoided under a Medicare-for-All type system?
Schaaf: So first of all, we would have had much fewer disparities that drove the death rate in America — diabetes, heart and lung disease, obesity, all of these were risk factors that drove a higher death rate in America, especially in the African American community and other low-income communities of color. Secondly, people would have had immediate access to (diagnostic) tests. They would have been able to avoid spreading this virus had they known that they had it, and they would have felt safe to stay home and get well and not spread the virus through work but because so many people are afraid. They are afraid to stop working, not only because of that income interruption, they’re afraid of losing their benefits like their health care, not just for themselves but for their family members.
Your employment should not be a death sentence. Your ability to have your health needs met should not be tied to your job. That is unconscionable and we have the power to change it. We have a system that works. It just needs to be expanded to everyone.
This is an idea whose time has come. So many other countries have managed to provide universal health coverage. How is it that the great United States of America is leaving so many people behind in a state of “unhealth” and yet we have this system that has been so successful for so many Americans. This is not some crazy radical idea. It’s a system that we know, that we trust, that works and it is a matter of expanding it so that everyone can enjoy its benefits, and its comfort.
Q: Thank you Mayor Schaaf.
Find more Code WACK! episodes on ProgressiveVoices.com, and on the PV app. You can also subscribe to Code WACK! wherever you find your podcasts. This podcast is powered by HEAL California, uplifting the voices of those fighting for healthcare reform around the country. I’m Brenda Gazzar.
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