Democrats of the Desert Address Healthcare

CATHEDRAL CITY —Democrats of the Desert (DOD), the Coachella Valley’s largest Democratic club, will host two speakers in May to discuss healthcare.

The speakers will be:  Mari Lopez of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. Also speaking will be Dr. Les Zendle, president of Desert Healthcare District.

The free meeting is at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, at Date Palm Country Club, 36200 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City.  The public is welcome.

“We weren’t surprised when our members told us, in a February survey, that healthcare is a huge concern,” Democrats of the Desert President Dori Smith, who lives in Palm Desert, said in a prepared statement.  “And Congress seems to be getting the message that Americans are worried sick. The House Rules Committee plans to soon hold the first-ever congressional hearing on Medicare for All. Mari Lopez will discuss Medicare for All at our meeting.”

Smith said that, in 2017, the Commonwealth Fund rated the U.S. healthcare system as the worst among the 11 developed nations it analyzed as part of an evaluation conducted every three years. The think tank also rated the U.S. healthcare system as the worst-performing of the nations analyzed when the last evaluation was released in 2014. And, the U.S. rated especially poor in equality of coverage., said citing a July 14, 2017 Newsweek article.

“I imagine that most Americans believe the situation has only gotten worse since 2017,” Smith said, “and we just learned that the Trump Administration wants to kill the Affordable Care Act. That law covers millions of Americans and protects all of us when it comes to pre-existing conditions and other key components that protect healthcare coverage.”

Desert Healthcare District is a public entity that provides community-based healthcare services to area residents. National Nurses United, with more than 150,000 members nationwide, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in U.S. history.

Democrats of the Desert is a community-based political organization, which studies local and national issues and makes recommendations to members and/or other individuals in the community.  On the basis of knowledge, verifiable information, and consensus, the Club seeks to influence decision-making and the electoral process by educating the electorate, and supporting qualified Democrats who wish to run for office.

For more information, send an email to democratsofthedesert@gmail.com.