Labor backs call by medical students for universal health care

Participants at the opening of the rally chanted, “Hey, Bush, don’t you know, single payer is the way to go…Whose nation? Our nation.”

Houston City Council Member Peter Brown (D) called for people to register to vote and change the political landscape in the upcoming elections. He noted that Houston has the most advanced medical technology in the country and the “lousiest health care in the country” due to poor access to health care. He called for a movement to “fix the broken system.”

Speakers extolled the solidarity of workers and students participating in the rally.

Two fourth-year medical students from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Jessica Dalby and Stephanie Wuest, expressed strong support for the goals of the rally.

Dalby stated, “I think it’s inspiring. I support a single payer health insurance system. I think single payer is the only way to go because we have to cut out the health insurance companies. They provide no benefit. They only add to the cost. Thirty-one cents of every dollar goes to overhead for the health insurance companies.”