Oakland North

Dozens gathered at Lake Merritt in Oakland Sunday afternoon at a rally for healthcare reform.  First-time protest organizer Jeremy Gameros from Healthcare Reform Now said he felt the momentum of people in support of a reform has dwindled and that he is eager to see those numbers pick back up. The small Oakland rally came the day after an anti-reform protest in Washington DC drew tens of thousands to the west lawn of the White House.  Oakland protesters marched around the lake, prompting honks of support from cars and cheers from passersby. Organizers cited Centers for Disease Control statistics indicating that nearly 45 million Americans (1 in 7) lacked health insurance in 2008, and that health care costs are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.

An audio slideshow from the event follows, plus an interview with one protester.

An Oakland resident, below, is 25 years old and says she is unable to obtain health insurance. According to her, she left her job because the tendinitis she developed became so severe she could not fulfill her duties. After losing her health insurance through work she went in search of a plan on the individual market. She says three major health policy companies, including Kaiser Permanente, denied her coverage outright because of her preexisting condition. According to Lucy Johns, a healthcare planning and policy consultant, it is not illegal for insurance companies to deny individuals coverage outright for preexisting conditions. Click Play to hear the story.

[audio: http://oaklandnorth.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FINAL_Healthcare_Lindsay.mp3]