In the fall of 2009 seven doctors from Oregon, California, and Washington took it upon themselves to tour 30 cities in 15 states in hopes of educating and raising awareness about the benefits of moving towards a single-payer healthcare system. They spoke to more than 6,000 people at 40 different rallies; they documented interviews with hundreds of people speaking about their experiences under the current healthcare system and brought it to members of congress.
However, healthcare reform is still under great debate. The reform bill passed this year allows states an opt-out provision providing they can demonstrate that the same level of coverage will be achieved by their own system. The doctors, operating as the Mad As Hell Doctors, along with Health Care for All-California, believe that single-payer healthcare is that system. Their message is that single-payer health insurance is the fiscally conservative, affordable way to provide universal healthcare to the many millions of Californians and other Americans who are uninsured and underinsured. They believe that with a single payer, improved Medicare-for-all healthcare system, everyone will be covered; co-pays and deductibles eliminated, and healthcare decisions are left to patients and their doctors, not Wall Street profiteers. The recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to the Doctors, does little to provide these elements and instead entrenches the current medical-industrial complex, which is the cause of our healthcare system’s chaos and unsustainable cost spiral.
The Mad As Hell Doctors have continued their crusade and are coming to Nevada City Oct. 11 at the historic Nevada Theatre. The Nevada County chapter of Health Care for All invites you to join them for an entertaining and informative evening to learn how real healthcare reform will benefit all Californians. Doors open at 6 p.m. with music by Cool Hand Uke and the Enablers and video celebrity ads will be playing about the California One Care campaign. There will be no host food and beverages from Summerthyme’s Bakery and Deli. The doctors’ presentation begins at 7 p.m. and includes a Q & A session. Local Dr. Roger Hicks will join the panel.
This free event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Nevada City Peace Center and Health Care for All-California. The event is dedicated to the memory of Terry Fieldhouse, a friend of the Doctors. Info: facebook.com/MadDrs or madashelldoctors.com
