On January 19, 2015, Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care participated in the caravan celebrating the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Photo by Ron Hargrove.
Also on the King Holiday, members of KSPH took part in a celebration at Shawnee Presbyterian Church, 101 South 44th Street, Louisville, KY. The Rev. Ron Robinson, Shawnee’s pastor, serves on the steering committee of KSPH. Sponsored jointly by the church and the group Sowers of Justice, the service and workshops commemorated Dr. King’s call for non-violence, equality, and economic equity.
Garrett Adams, MD, led a health care workshop, stressing the need for a single payer system that would cover all medically necessary care for everyone in our country. There is a bill in Congress, HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, that would provide such coverage–cutting costs, reducing disparities and saving lives.
Workshop attendees shared insights and personal health care stories, agreeing that the current system remains inadequate. They indicated a wish to know more about single payer and suggested we continue our efforts to educate the public. In 1966, Dr. King referred to injustice in health care as “shocking and inhuman.” In 2015, he would undoubtedly remind us that there is still much work to be done.