Dear,

If you live in California, you spend an average of $5,503 on health-care
costs a year -- and that's with insurance.(1)

Medical costs are so out of control that 1 in 4 Californians report having
trouble paying for basic life necessities because of health-care bills.(2)

Governor Gavin Newsom campaigned on single-payer health care, and it's
needed more than ever during the pandemic. California can't move forward
on Medi-Cal for All without a waiver from the U.S. government, which the
Trump administration rejected. But now with President Biden in office and
former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in the administration,
we have our best chance ever to get single-payer approved for our state.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to help push through Medi-Cal for All in California?

California has recorded more than three million coronavirus cases since
March, which is almost 10% of the population, and it's hit the Latinx and
other communities of color hardest.

The average cost of hospital treatment for a coronavirus patient without
insurance is $68,261 for people over 20 years old, which could drive
people into bankruptcy.(3) And 1 in 10 patients become "long-haulers" --
meaning they suffer from heart, lung, and other issues even after they've
recovered.(4) Those people are facing years of medical costs in their
futures.

Let's be clear: health care is a social-justice issue: people of color,
women, LGBTQIA people, immigrants, and disabled people are
disproportionately uninsured and unable to receive the care they need.

But comprehensive health care for all isn't just about helping the
uninsured. Job-based coverage isn't providing adequate health care in many
cases for Californians. Premiums, high deductibles, and large copayments
are causing 38% of people to make financial-based health-care decisions,
including skipping doses of medications and postponing needed doctor
appointments.(5)

California has the strongest economy in the country, and we are already
spending billions of unnecessary dollars on insurance companies and and
because of people being forced to go to hospitals because they can't
afford primary care.(6) It's time for health care that works for all of
us.

Courage California is helping to gather 1 million signatures for the
Healthy California Now coalition to demand that Governor Newsom seek
Medicare waivers from the Biden administration. And then we're going to
work with the legislature for a real Medi-Cal for All bill.

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll donate.

Yours in the fight for single-payer,

Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Jay, Lindsay,
LisaMarie, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)

Footnotes:
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3.
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4.
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5.
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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