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.

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.

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:
1. https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/goals/lowering-the-cost-of-care/reducing-out-of-pocket-cost-for-healthcare
2. https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/high-out-of-pocket-costs-contribute-to-poor-access-to-care-and-financial-hardships-for-california-workers
3. https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/average-cost-hospital-care-covid-19-ranges-51000-78000-based-age
4. https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-information/covid-19-long-haulers.html
5. https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/high-out-of-pocket-costs-contribute-to-poor-access-to-care-and-financial-hardships-for-california-workers
6. https://www.chcf.org/publication/california-health-care-spending