Medicare-For-All Advocates Going Door-to-Door This Weekend in Elk Grove, Targeting Assemblymember Jim Cooper

May 18, 2018 |

As it occurred last January, this weekend healthcare reform advocates will be going door-to-door in California's 9th State Assembly District hoping to generate support for a single-payer healthcare system in Califonia. 

The effort, which is being organized by the California Nurses Association and the Knock Every Door activist group, will be contacting voters in a portion of the 9th California Assembly District. The canvassers will converge on Elk Grove neighborhoods this Saturday, May 19 that is represented by Jim Cooper ( D - Elk Grove). 

As part of the progressive movement, the two groups will be talking about Senate Bill 562 which, if enacted, would establish a single-payer healthcare system in California. The goal of creating a single-payer system is being sought in the backdrop of the uncertainty surrounding the federal Affordable Healthcare Act - Obamacare - which has been under onslaught by conservative Republicans since its enactment. 

In their posting on this weekend's effort, the groups said "We’re turning up the heat on key members of the Assembly to make sure they hear from their constituents. Join us this Saturday, May 19 in Assemblymember Jim Cooper's district in Elk Grove to talk to our neighbors about what Medicare-for-All could do for their lives and ask for their support."  

The topic has generated considerable controversy following the California Senates passage of the SB 562 last year. After passing in the State Senate, further legislative action in the Assembly was stopped by Speaker Anthony Rendon who expressed numerous concerns with the legislation, most notably how it would be financed.

Along with walking in Cooper's district, organizers are also going door-to-door this weekend in six other Assembly District's across the state. The focus of the efforts has been to pressure legislators  

During an Elk Grove town hall meeting held in July 2017 following Rendon's action killing S.B 562, Cooper offered measured support for a single-payer system. While Cooper said he supports the idea, he echoed the concerns of Rendon and other Assembly Democrats saying the Senate's legislation was not "fully cooked" in terms of financing.   

"We have to find a funding mechanism," Cooper said at the Elk Grove meeting. "How do we pay for it."

Even though Cooper is being targeted for the second time in less than five months, he is expected to cruise to an easy primary victory in June and reelection to a third term in the November general election. 

More information on the event can be viewed here. Coopers townhall meeting from last summer can be heard in its entirety below.