Rally in Defense of Children's Health

Within hours of the House of Representatives passage of a health care bill, activists in San Francisco rallied in front of City Hall to call for the protection of children and their health care needs.

They gathered on the steps of City Hall Sunday afternoon for a rally and stroller brigade. One of two lead sponsors of the rally, the Children's Defense Fund, wants to expand publicly funded health insurance to a larger number of children from low income families.  They asked for a seamless and simple enrollment process that is comprehensive and assures that everything a child needs is covered. They stopped short of asking for a single payer plan that would eliminate the insurance companies altogether and include coverage for everyone.

A second co-sponsor of the rally, Moms Rising, has sought to seek better coverage for families with their "Healthcare Truth Squad". With the goal of fighting the misinformation campaigns about health reform, they have rallied members via the internet to contact elected officials to remind them to keep children's health care prominent in the picture. Moms Rising's popular blog has been called a lifesaver by women with children who want to see change to help families, but there also little discussion of single payer is to be found.

It is clear that when insurance companies, who hold profit as their primary motive, are included in any kind of health care reform children's needs will still not be met. In the next battle for health care here in California there will be a huge push to get the one plan that will really include everyone; only then will no child really be left behind. That will only come with a single payer plan.