Tour advocates for the poor
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Merced Sun-Star
http://search.mercedsun-star.com/merced/archives/281592671118231.mcd
By Daniel Velton

There were no happy endings to the stories told Monday evening at Club Morelos in Merced, where the New Freedom Bus Tour stopped.
The tour, which involves about 50 low-income or homeless people traveling the nation advocating more rights and better treatment for the poor, documents the woes of residents in cities where the bus stops.

The stories and testimony are collected into a report that will be presented Dec. 10 to the United Nations in New York City.

Gloria Sandoval, a member of the Labor Party Organizing Committee, which sponsored the tour's stop in Merced, said, "This is meant to unite the voices of the poor and those living under violations of the declaration of human rights."

Sandoval was referring to a declaration passed by the United Nations in 1948 that guarantees "basic human rights of every man, woman and child."

She said that Merced County faces a severe crisis in health care, partly due to its level of poverty. The Labor Committee and the tour spoke in favor of universal health care Monday evening.

"It's not so much that there are too few doctors," said Sandoval. "It's that (people are asked), 'Do you have insurance? Can you pay?'"
Her husband, Salvador Sandoval, a primary care physician in Merced, summed up the situation in the county.

"This is 'Grapes of Wrath' country," he said. "We have high seasonal unemployment because everything is agriculture-related. There's pockets of poverty all over the Valley...and we're seeing a 15 to 20 percent increase in what insurance companies are charging."

One of the approximately 25 Merced County residents who showed up at the meeting, a woman calling herself Catalina, said she was involved in a car accident in August 2000. The driver of the car she was in didn't have a license.

Catalina was injured and taken to the hospital. She said that her insurance didn't cover her medical bills and that she had to pay more than $1,000 out of her own pocket.

She said she covered the costs with what she receives in unemployment and disability assistance.

Another woman who identified herself as Sunshine said she and her spouse have to pay a significant amount out of their Social Security for needed medications. "We have to budget out about $100 a month for medicine, and we're living on a Social Security check," she said.
A woman identifying herself as Olga spoke next and described what the poor are up against when they seek medical care.

"Golden Valley Health Center (for example) charges $45 to see a specialist," she said. "And we're only working on minimum wage. There's some people who can't even afford the $10 co-pay on a visit... . Everyone should have insurance, not just people who have (high-paying) jobs."
Salvador Sandoval closed the meeting with a proposed solution to the health care problem. He suggested a referendum in Merced "to show that people want universal health care."

He said, "We need a grassroots campaign. ... There's 41 million people uninsured in this country, and the number is growing by 100,000 a month."

Maria, one of the women on the bus tour, said, "I believe everyone needs health care. We're one of the richest countries in the world, so we should all be entitled to that."

The cross-country bus trip, organized by the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, is costing more than $60,000, according to Cheri Honkala, the tour director.

She said the funds were raised from donations from individuals and organizations.

They pay mostly for the bus itself and for two drivers to stay in motel rooms. The riders sleep on the floors.

The Tour began in Philadelphia on Nov. 10 and will stop next in Los Angeles.

Reporter Daniel Velton can be reached at 385-2464 or dvelton@mercedsun-star.com