ANGELICA DUEÑAS, MOTHER, WIFE, ACTIVIST AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. BORN AND RAISED IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. RAISING FIVE CHILDREN WHO ATTEND LAUSD SCHOOLS. BA, IN POLITICAL SCIENCE. MA, IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP. ACCEPTS ZERO CORPORATE MONEY SO SHE IS BEHOLDEN TO THE PEOPLE AND NOT SPECIAL INTERESTS.
As millions of people are thrown off their health insurance due to massive employment losses nationwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the case for Medicare-for-All better than any politician ever could. We must use this unprecedented moment to rally together to, once and for all, institute a single payer system; a move that enjoys major support across the political base of the country. We are the only major country in the world to not provide healthcare as a right, yet spend around $9,400 per capita- the most expensive in the world! That’s an average of 2.5 times more than other major industrialized nations who provide universal healthcare for ALL of its citizens. On top of high administrative costs, costly deductibles, and payments for procedures, most uninsured people are low-income and disproportionately people of color.