“There is no way you can know what I know and believe that anything else should be a priority right now.”
–Kirsten Magnuson
HEAL California’s Unsung Heroes project highlights the hard work and dedication of individuals who are working – often in the background – to win Medicare-for-All in California and the nation.
—
Kirsten Magnuson vividly remembers the moment that she “fell in love” with single-payer health care. It was in 1992, when then-U.S. presidential candidate Jerry Brown made his case for single payer during a televised primary debate with Bill Clinton. Brown argued that health care should be treated “not as a commodity” for profit but as the right of every American.“I was very disappointed when (Brown) took the governor’s mansion and suddenly did not support single payer,” said Magnuson, a loquacious activist who lives on Los Angeles’ westside.
Today, Magnuson is chair of Health Care for All-California (HCA-CA), a nonprofit which educates and advocates for a single-payer healthcare system in California. (Single-payer is a public health insurance arrangement in which one public or quasi-public agency – a single payer – collects all premiums and pays all healthcare costs of a nation or state.)
The Yale University graduate, who lives with her two cats Boozles and Little Guy, is no stranger to community activism. She and her six younger siblings were raised in Lawrence, Kansas — a college town — on a 3-acre lot with goats, geese and horses. “It was a great way to grow up,” she said. “I got to do lots of theater, science projects and social justice activities.”
With all those animals, it was natural that Magnuson would get involved with the 4-H youth organization network. More surprising was that she was named parliamentarian for one of its clubs at the tender age of 7. Being skilled in parliamentary procedure has helped her track state bills related to single-payer legislation. She is also parliamentarian of the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club.
Before joining Health Care for All, Magnuson briefly helped gather signatures and make phone calls in support of then-state Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s first single-payer bill which, unfortunately, was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE
When a state single-payer bill was not introduced in the state Senate this year, Magnuson was devastated that California lawmakers weren’t “ready” to make it happen. But she also recognized that the setback presented an opportunity to educate and develop closer relationships with legislators, and for any one of them to still introduce a single-payer bill.
“There is no way you can know what I know and believe that anything else should be a priority right now,” Magnuson argues.
That includes the facts that countries with single-payer, such as Canada, pay roughly half as much of their GDP on health care and enjoy better health outcomes, including lower infant mortality and higher life expectancy rates.
Magnuson was thrilled when Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) introduced the Medicare-for-All Act of 2019 in February. With corporate interests and even some Democratic Party leaders opposed to the idea, she said, “this takes such leadership.” She believes the bill’s two-year transition period, however, may complicate matters and make it riskier.
“We need more politicians to exhibit the courage of their convictions. Lyndon B. Johnson stared down political scaredy-cats and pushed through Medicare 50 years ago. It was implemented swiftly, in one fell swoop providing care to seniors and desegregating the hospitals,” she said. “We’re looking for equally courageous politicians – like Jayapal – in Washington and Sacramento to fix our broken health care with single payer.”
FOCUSING ON THE POSSIBLE
Meanwhile, a chapter-based organization like HCA-CA can activate people at the grassroots level, helping them understand not only how single payer will improve their lives but also how they can help make it happen, Magnuson said. “And, hopefully, help us all be better advocates for everything that we need the government to do for us,” she said. “It’s our government, and unfortunately, we’ve just gotten too separated from it over the years.”
Local HCA chapters are tapping members’ social media connections, organizing panel discussions and hosting regular movie nights around single payer. She would also like to see members arrange meetings with lawmakers and then film them talking about their stance on the issue to post online.
“There’s a lot of propaganda and even mudslinging around this issue; it’s important that we keep our strong voices strong,” she said. “Probably the most challenging thing for me as chair is how best to keep everyone motivated and in touch with how possible this is.”
That’s not to say it won’t be challenging to overcome the lobbying efforts of the $3 trillion-dollar healthcare industry and Big Pharma, which are opposed to single payer because it would eliminate insurance companies and rein in skyrocketing prescription drug prices.
But the status quo has devolved to the point that parents are thinking twice about taking their sick children to the doctor due to high out-of-pocket expenses, she said. People are cutting pills in half or not taking their insulin – and they are dying. “(The system) will change because we just can’t take it anymore,” she added. “We’ve absorbed the greed as long as we can.”
BUSINESS A NATURAL ALLY
Magnuson herself has borne witness to the power of the people. As a girl in Lawrence, Kansas, she saw her community band together in an effort to halt destruction of the Haskell-Baker Wetlands for a bypass that was recommended by the State Highway Commission and approved by the county commission.
In a sign of protest, a fictitious creature named Agnes T. Frog became a write-in candidate for county commission elections in 1986, challenging the incumbent. While the amphibian didn’t win the election, it managed to draw 30 percent of the vote along with significant media attention. The route is still unfinished due partly to environmental concerns, according to the Kansas Historical Society.
“Agnes T. Frog truly did have a foundational effect on my worldview,” Magnuson reflected, adding that it taught her the importance of relying on the business community — which was vocal on that issue — as a natural ally.
“Business is again a big ally in the work for single payer since so many businesses would gain a competitive advantage if they could be spared the draining cost of providing for employee health care.”
— Brenda Gazzar, brenda@heal-ca.org
—
HEAL California is an independent news and information hub focused on the California Medicare for All movement. We feature non-partisan news, views, podcasts and videos that highlight the continuing failures of our broken healthcare system and elevate the voices of advocates and organizations fighting for change.
Check out our Media page for experts and additional resources including links to legislation, studies, and more.
Keep up with the California Medicare for All movement –
