By Jesse Muhammad
Staff Writer
HOUSTON (FinalCall.com)
Apr 10, 2008
Rallying for affordable health care for all, hundreds of medical students from around the country recently gathered at Houston City Hall in conjunction with the American Medical Student Association’s (AMSA) 58th Annual Convention. The group met at the Hyatt Regency Houston and marched to City Hall.
According to statistics, Texas has the largest uninsured population in the nation. Houston alone has 1.1 million uninsured people. Almost 40,000 are children.
“A person is a person; a child is a child; and there are no good moral, ethical, rational or medical reasons to ever exclude human beings from getting the health care they deserve,” said Flavio Casoy, AMSA’s Jack Rutledge Fellow and leader of the rally. “As future physicians, we declare that healthcare is a human right for all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or country of origin. We invite all Houston residents to join us in asking the 2008 presidential candidates to support a single, public, national health insurance program.”
Low-income workers affiliated with Service Employees International Union also spoke at the rally about their daily struggle to secure affordable health care for their families from their employers.
In addition to the rally, AMSA’s annual convention attracted more than 1,500 attendees, who attended workshops and seminars on issues such as pharmaceutical industry marketing, minority health, 2008 election issues, immigrant health, healthcare and the aging population, the AIDS epidemic and mental health.
“Students coming together like this sends a message to the next president of the United States, that we as young people can impact change,” said Dan Glickman, a medical student at Rutger Canden in New Jersey.
Bryan Boynton, a junior at the same school, added, “It’s all about the future. The main issues today are the economy and health care. This rally is critical.”
“As the future physicians, we see a broken system, so if there is going to be change then we are going to be apart of it,” said Laura Janneck of Case Western Reserve University.
Jamil Muhammad, a senior at Girls and Boys Preparatory Academy, came out to show his support. “I am here because healthcare for our families is critical. Most low- income families can’t afford it and young people are suffering from lack of medical check-ups. This was a powerful stance by young people today.”
The American Medical Student Association, with more than a half-century history of medical student activism, is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. With more than 68,000 members, including medical and premedical students, residents and practicing physicians, AMSA is committed to improving medical training as well as advancing the profession of medicine.