Get to know Chris Cai, our newest unsung hero of healthcare reform! This project of HEAL California, 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.

The future of healthcare lies with the next generation of doctors.

One of the keys to achieving Improved Medicare for All will be educating medical students and younger physicians about the economics behind it, said Chris Cai, a student organizer and member of the University of San Francisco Medical School Class of 2021. A founding member of the UCSF chapter for Students for a National Health Program, Cai was a grassroots activist even before he went to medical school. His experience in school has only strengthened his view.

“Prior to medical school, I saw the effect of many people not having health insurance,” Cai said. “You see people who wait to get

chemotherapy because they don’t have insurance. Or people who lose their jobs and then get sick. You hear all of this from the patient’s point of view where lack of insurance or underinsurance leads to preventable outcomes. From the provider’s point of view, it’s clear how difficult it is to provide the best care when you have to constantly advocate for your patient and fight insurance companies. All of that was on my mind when I joined the movement and, more recently, got involved in economic research of single payer with Professor Jim Kahn at UCSF. It has exposed me to the benefits.”

Change is on the horizon. A few weeks ago, medical students asked the American Medical Association to drop its official opposition of single payer, and at least consider the possibility for a change that could transform the country’s healthcare. In a relatively minor, yet potentially historic victory, the AMA reference committee, instead of rejecting it outright, recommended that the proposed policy change be referred to the AMA Board of Trustees for further consideration.

“I think there is a paradigm shift,” Cai said in an interview before the AMA meeting. “People often mistakenly think of single-payer as a far-left idea. The facts are that nearly every other developed county has universal healthcare, and fifty-six percent of physicians support single payer. I think if you polled students, an even greater majority would support single payer. It’s a common-sense solution.

“You also hear that physicians would make much less, but research shows that single-payer in Canada did not result in a loss of physician income,” Cai said. “They’re still leading comfortable lifestyles, and many of these physicians in surveys show higher job satisfaction, because they don’t have to deal with excessive paperwork. Physicians today face a burnout epidemic. Single payer is a systematic solution that will benefit us and patients.”

Contributing to the deterioration of the current healthcare system is the lack of trust between doctors and patients, said Michael Dodge, another medical student who joined the UCSF student chapter.

“In a single-payer system, developing trust would be crucial,” he said. “When medicine is not commodified, the doctor can do what’s the best for the patients and not worry about the economics. Patients see the corporatization of medicine and that affects how they view doctors and the advice they give. I think single payer could help them feel more comfortable knowing that their doctor is not going to see patients just as “codes” to be billed.”

Cai also believes that medical associations, including the California Medical Association, could become allies despite their longtime opposition to single payer.

“I think in the future when we have a better worked out bill, I think we will have a huge opportunity,” he said. “The CMA already does so much to advance health in California and can be continue to be a leader by supporting single-payer more strongly.”

Both Cai and Dodge said, among students, there is not much awareness of what single payer means, so a major goal is to focus on educating peers. They want to bring more people into the conversation and challenge perceptions so that people will understand the benefits.

“We want to strengthen the chapters in California over the next few years,” Cai said. “If you ask students, ‘do you believe health is a human right?’ most would say ‘yes.’ But then as we get further and further along our training, it becomes harder to stay committed to that initial motivation. This is a movement that might change that. Single-payer is cost effective and the right thing to do.”

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Tags: single-payer, Healthcare Reform, Medical Students, UCSF