Zombie attired protesters that included doctors and nurses marched through downtown Los Angeles to bring awareness to single payer healthcare legislation SB 810. The march comes at a time when the Supreme Court is discussing the
April 3, 2012

Zombie attired protesters that included doctors and nurses marched through downtown Los Angeles to bring awareness to single payer healthcare legislation SB 810. The march comes at a time when the Supreme Court is discussing the constitutionality of President Obama's health care reform legislation.

IO NEWS: Today is Sunday, April 1st, and we're here at Pershing square in downtown Los Angeles. You're watching InsightOut news.

IO NEWS: Protesters marched from Figaro and 8th over to Pershing Square this afternoon to call attention to single payer legislation here in southern California. The legislation is SB 810. It comes at a time when the Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments on both sides as to whether or not the legislation that was passed under President Obama is a constitutionally valid mandate which requires American citizens to have health insurance.

IO News: Why does single payer matter to the public?

DESA(single payer supporter): Because it's the only affordable and practical and proven way to have a fair health care system. It's practiced all over the world and it's demonized here for no good reason, and we can't let people lie about it.

NATE (single payer supporter): 'Cause, golly. What's going on with this community? Things will keep going down and I'm talking about the American community, ok. It keeps going down, and down and down and keeps going up and up and up on the other side. I don't understand it myself.

IO NEWS: Protesters were dressed as either zombies or patients. As they marched through the streets of downtown LA the zombies attacked the patients, this was supposed to be symbolic of the current situation here in the United States, where the protesters say that corporate greed is taking away money from patients unfairly.

JOSEPH (student nurse, zombie protester): The horrors that the corporate health care system reap on individual patients in our society, every day people go bankrupt, people lose their homes, people lose their retirement, savings, because they get sick. And this doesn't happen in any other country. This happens in America because we have a health care system fueled by corporate greed, and Wall Street profits are behind all of this. I came out here to shed some light on this and work towards a better system.

NANCY (physician, single payer supporter): There's more and more insurance companies taking a bigger cut, doctors are being paid less, and I feel terrible when I have to drop patients and can't afford to take care of everyone who needs it. It's devastating families, they can't get what they need, and we need to put the finger on exactly who's causing this crisis; I'm really excited about this movement because it is going to be the answer. It is the answer for every other developing country, and they have better care than we do and that truth needs to get out.

IO NEWS: And who is responsible? You said you need to put the finger on who is responsible?

NANCY: Insurance companies, the middle people.

IO NEWS: Protesters held a small rally here at Pershing Square after the march where the zombies went through a tent and were cured of their desire to take money from patients. In the state of California alone there are 6.9M uninsured, and 62% of all bankruptcies in the United States are the result of high health care costs. This is Margot Paez reporting for InsightOut News. Good-bye.

Cross-posted at InsightOut News.

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