by Marian Shostrom and Pat Snyder, LWVDV Health Care Issue Co-Chairs

If you attended Racism: A Public Health Crisis in Contra Costa County, the February 18th Community Conversation jointly sponsored by LWVDV and Contra Costa County Library, you are aware of inequities in our current healthcare system. A video of the event will soon be posted on the LWVDV YouTube Channel and the Contra Costa County Library YouTube Channel.

If you want to learn more about the current inequities in our health care system, and its relationship to systemic racism, The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College recently hosted a one-hour webinar, "The Lancet Commission on public policy and health in the Trump Era." It is an excellent overview of the Health Care system in the United States, and includes facts, statistics, and comparisons to other countries. Here is a link to the video.

An important piece of legislation was introduced in the CA Assembly on Friday, February 19, 2021: AB 1400: Guaranteed Health Care for All (CalCare). Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) and joint authors, Assemblymembers Alex Lee (D-San Jose) and Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), introduced the bill, which would guarantee comprehensive, high-quality health care (including mental health, dental, vision, etc.) to all Californians. The bill currently has 15 co-sponsors from around the state. The LWVDV Health Care committee will follow developments of the legislation in the next few months, and will keep members informed.