Townhall: Sanders, Jayapal, Ady Barkan and National Leaders to Discuss Health Care Justice
The for-profit health care system is broken and riddled with discrimination. Despite spending the most of any wealthy country on health care, Americans have inadequate and unaffordable coverage and worse health outcomes than our international peers. Black, Brown and low-wage workers are being failed by insurance and pharmaceutical companies that put profits over patients. And long-standing systemic racism, which creates health and social inequities, has put these groups at significantly increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.
In a Public Citizen-hosted virtual townhall on Wednesday, Sept. 23 focused on how we can achieve health justice for everyone, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.,) and U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), as well as health care leaders will discuss the crisis of racial health disparities in our for-profit health care system, the dangers of tying health coverage to employment and how insurance companies and Big Pharma are profiteering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Speakers will highlight triumphs of the rapidly growing Medicare for All grassroots movement, including local resolutions that already have passed in dozens of cities.
WHEN: 8 p.m. ET, Weds., Sept. 23
WHO: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
Robert Weissman, president, Public Citizen
Sara Nelson, president, Association of Flight Attendants
Rev. William Barber II, Poor People’s Campaign
Ady Barkan, Be a Hero
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed
Wendell Potter, former insurance executive and whistleblower
Rahna Epting, executive director, MoveOn
RSVP: Press can RSVP for the event by contacting Mike Stankiewicz at mstankiewicz@citizen.org.