 Oakmont Progressives Meeting Monday, May 10, on Zoom (Link below) — Meeting will open at 6:30, Presentation at 7:00 PM. Dr. Mary McDevitt will explain the current efforts to create a single-payer healthcare system in California, and how it will work. Here’s the Zoom Link: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86552760070?pwd=bnFlTW1JUldJREJRZDA1YVhmdlVzUT09 Meeting ID: 865 5276 0070 Passcode: 964277 Dial by your location +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 865 5276 0070 Passcode: 964277 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdaLwLoBsl Here is the OVA News article about the event. ————————————————————————————– Better Health Care for California? The pandemic has made clear the many weaknesses of the American health care system. But at 7 PM on Monday, May 10th, Dr. Mary McDevitt will present, at the Oakmont Progressive’s zoom meeting, current efforts to create CALCARE, a single-payer program designed to radically expand quality health care in our state. AB 1400, authored by Assembly Member Ash Kalra, reforms California’s broken health care system by creating CALCARE. Our Assembly Member, Jim Wood, chairs the Health Committee and basically controls what health care issues receive a hearing and which die without a hearing. At this point, Assembly Member Wood is not a supporter although he says he is open to proposals that improve health care. Oakmont is a key community in his district and our voice will be important. Dr. McDevitt, retired Medical Director in San Jose and Marin, will present how CALCARE works and how it will address some of the major gaps in our current system. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that at the present time 2/3 of bankruptcies are related to medical bills. They report that over the last 10 years, employer insurance deductibles have risen 111% while wages have increased 27%. Covid-19 has shown the need to separate health insurance from employment. Among other things, the proposed CALCARE program would include expanded services including dental, vision, hearing, long-term care, and in-home health support. Should Americans continue to pay more for their health care than other similar countries? The Peter G. Peterson Foundation reports that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2020 Health Statistics — a comprehensive source of comparable statistics on healthcare systems across OECD member countries — provides insights on how America’s healthcare system compares to others. The United States devotes more of its national income to healthcare relative to other OECD countries. On average, healthcare spending across those countries has remained in line with overall economic growth in the past decade. Between 2010 and 2019, health spending across the OECD averaged about 8.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually. Healthcare spending in the United States, however, rose from 16.3 percent to 17.0 percent of GDP in that same period. Though the Federal government is unlikely to create a national single-payer program at this time, California is big enough to create its own. Dr. Mary McDevitt, originally from Philadelphia, came West to finish her medical training at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. After 14 years in her San Francisco practice of Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease, she became the Medical Director of San Jose Medical Center. In 1995 she took the position of Medical Director of Marin General Hospital. After retirement in 2009, she moved to the town of Sonoma. She is an active member of Physicians for a National Health Plan and the Sonoma Valley Democratic Club. All Oakmonters are invited to join the Oakmont Progressives meeting Monday, May 10th at 7:00 PM. Email us if you need a link at: amatothompson@gmail.com. |