Universal Community Care
READ TIME OVERVIEW: 1 MIN | FULL: 2 MINS
As your Council Member I will:
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Commit to the Patients Over Profits Pledge:
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I pledge that I will not take contributions over $200 from executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the hospital, insurance, and pharma corporations within the corporate front group, Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, and instead pledge to put the health, well-being, and safety of my constituents over corporate health industry profits.
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Make Medicare For All a reality on the local level
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Create a Health Department that:
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Provides healthcare to city residents
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Reduces costs for premiums, services, and subscriptions
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Fully funds mental health, behavioral health, and alcohol & substance abuse treatment
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Protects and affirms reproductive justice
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Establish Community Care Centers in every neighborhood to provide local healthcare, senior, youth, counseling, and social services and programs.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the failures in our for-profit healthcare system. I believe that health care is a human right and every resident regardless of income should have healthcare. However, we cannot wait for the federal government to act before we make this a reality. It's time the city takes bold action.
Single-Payer Universal Healthcare
Throughout this pandemic, we've lost hundreds of lives due to COVID-19 and lack of healthcare. The pandemic has also led to loss employment for many residents especially in communities where unemployment and underemployment rates were already high. Our health care system has been strained due to the increased demand from COVID-19 illness and overall toll on community mental health. The constantly inceasing cost of healthcare deters many working class people from seeking healthcare until its an emergency. Delays in healthcare and especially preventative care becomes costly both in terms of emergency healthcare costs, but also the increased harm to our health.
We need to enact single-payer, universal healthcare on a local level for every resident which would provide coverage for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs; hospital, surgical and outpatient services; primary and preventive care; emergency services; reproductive care; dental and vision care; and long-term care. Coverage would be provided without copays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs, and would slash bureaucracy, protect the doctor-patient relationship and assure patients a free choice of doctors.
We can do this by creating a Health Department in the City of Los Angeles. LA County already has a health department, but by creating one on a city level, the burden on the county would be reduced and the city we would have more community control over our healthcare.
We can establish Community Care Centers in every neighborhood which would provide programs for healthcare, seniors, youth, counseling, social services and more.
Let's make universal healthcare a reality for all.
