I know how hard it was to pass the #ACA. I was there in 2009 when TeaBaggers (now MAGA) stormed the halls of House office buildings, trying to intimidate @HouseDemocrats from passing a bill with a public option. Fortunately, those Dems held fast & passed the ACA+public option. /1 Moderate & conservative @SenateDems killed the public option in 2009, & damn near wrecked passage of health reform with their dithering. The blizzard of Feb 2010 bought Dems in Congress & the White House some time. At a GOP retreat, Obama nailed their BS questions one by one. /2

The richest country on earth & in the history of humankind should be better prepared for the #CoronavirusOutbreak. Here are some reasons we’re not:

1. No #MedicareForAll means patients face financial hurdles (co-pays, deductibles, other bills) that deter them from health care... 2. Financial hurdles, unnecessary paperwork, & pointless scrutiny of immigration status when determining health care make it harder for people of color & low-income families to access medical services. #COVID19 will hurt these communities harder because of these unjust processes.

I am enthusiastically endorsing @BernieSanders for President. Here's the story of my decision: My patients are struggling in our current healthcare "system." Diabetic teens ration insulin when they know their family can't afford prescriptions, supplies, groceries, AND rent. I care for moms & newborns who lose coverage after moving to a different state to be near family.

1. Whose healthcare suffers under #GrahamCassidy? Our fellow Americans: kids at soccer practice; the babysitter with a transplanted kidney; 2. grocery store workers who keep produce fresh; a teacher aide struggling to get by; nursing home employees comforting elderly or disabled;