Carole Mikita Reporting
August 22nd, 2006 @ 3:34pm
Six community groups formed a coalition to bring awareness to what they call the healthcare crisis. The coalition called this event ‘CHALK IT UP’; the chalk outlines of bodies are still on the sidewalk, each one representing a Utahn.
Dozens of people stopped at Washington Square, 400 S. State St., during their lunch hours to be ‘chalked.’
Tess Bonham, Age 10: “Because people don’t have health insurance.”
Their outlines represent individuals without health insurance who will die.
Fred Gurney, age 11: “I think people should have health care because it’s not really good to die.”
Groups gathered in downtown Salt Lake today say that’s exactly what will happen in the next twelve months. By the end of the afternoon, this coalition of groups hopes to have 132 chalk outlined bodies.
Linda Parsons, Utah Jobs with Justice: “It’s probably a lot more than that. Statistics will show that, and we hope it will bring some attention to our politicians about health care and our crisis.”
Politicians and candidates did show up… using the event to promote their platforms.
Pete Ashdown, (D) U.S. Senate candidate: “This is becoming an economic issue in America. It’s not just small businesses that are suffering, big businsses like Delta and GM. We need some imagination by our federal government to deal with this problem.”
Bob Brister, Utah Green Party candidate for 2nd District: “Every other industrialized country in the world doesn’t let their citizens go without healthcare.”
Scott McCoy, (D) State Senator: “We have almost 300-thousand in the state of Utah, 70-odd-thousand of those are children. And so it should be a priority for the legislature.”
Each group believes the United States needs a national health insurance system that covers everyone.
Barbara Toomer, The Disabled Rights Action Committee: “We joined the coalition, mainly because we have healthcare problems also. And healthcare is extremely important to a person with a disability.”
The coalition members all support a bill H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, a publicly financed, privately delivered health care program that uses already existing Medicare.