Los Angeles Times - 02.08.2019

A1 2 FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019 LATIMES.COM

Harris, Sanders and War-
ren have made Medicare for
all a central plank of their
campaigns, riding a wave of
discontent over rising medi-
cal costs to call for a historic
expansion of government in-
surance.
Their more-moderate ri-
vals say the three have mis-
judged the public mood and
that by overreaching, they
would squander an opportu-
nity to enact significant, if in-
cremental, reforms.
A survey earlier this year
by the nonprofit Kaiser
Family Foundation found
that support for a single gov-
ernment plan fell from 56%
to 37% when respondents
were told that it might in-
volve eliminating private in-
surance companies or re-
quiring more taxes.
“It doesn’t make sense for
us to take away insurance
from half the people in this
room,” warned Colorado
Sen. Michael Bennet, who is
among many Democratic
presidential candidates, in-
cluding former Vice Presi-
dent Joe Biden, who back
more limited approaches.
The more-centrist
Democrats would preserve
the current employer-based
system, as well as state Med-
icaid programs and the in-
surance marketplaces cre-
ated by the 2010 healthcare
law.
They would add an addi-
tional choice to allow Ameri-
cans to buy into a Medicare-
like government plan, often
called a “public option.”
“Every single person in
America would be able to

buy into that option if they

didn’t like their employer

plan,” Biden said Wednes-

day.

Critics on the left say that

approach would ultimately

cost more and would pre-

serve an outsized role for pri-

vate insurance companies.

“We have tried this expe-

riment with the insurance

companies,” Warren said

from the debate stage Tues-

day. “And what they’ve done

is they’ve sucked billions of

dollars out of our healthcare

system. And they force peo-

ple to have to fight to try to

get the healthcare coverage

that their doctors and

nurses say that they need.”

But threatening Ameri-

cans’ current health cov-

erage has proved disastrous

for previous Democratic ef-

forts to expand protections,

including President Clin-

ton’s doomed initiative in

the early 1990s.

The 2010 healthcare law

was almost sunk by labor

unions angry about a new

tax on the kind of generous

health plans many of their

members enjoy.

And even though the law

was designed to have min-

imal impact on the existing

insurance system, President

Obama faced a firestorm

when a few million people

found their health plans

canceled after new rules

took effect requiring plans to

offer more-comprehensive

benefits.

“Traditionally, fear of los-

ing benefits — however

flawed they may be —

trumps hope of getting

something better,” said

Chris Jennings, an influen-

tial Washington health pol-

icy advisor who worked for

Clinton and Obama.

Even Republican politi-

cians have paid steep prices

for proposing to disrupt the

employer-based health in-

surance system.

When Arizona Sen. John

McCain, the 2008 GOP presi-

dential nominee, proposed a

new system to give Ameri-

cans tax credits to buy their

own health plans instead of

getting coverage through

work, he was pilloried by

then-candidate Obama.

Obama made the Mc-

Cain proposal a centerpiece

of his advertising strategy

attacking the Republican

nominee.

To be sure, as deduct-

ibles soared, more than trip-

ling in the last decade, job-

based health benefits have

offered workers less and less

protection, generating polit-

ical anger.

More than half of Ameri-

cans in an employer-pro-

vided plan report they or an

immediate family member

have delayed getting medi-

cal care because of costs in

the previous year, according

to a nationwide poll con-

ducted last year by the Los

Angeles Times and the Kai-

ser Family Foundation.

One in six said they had

made a difficult sacrifice in

the previous year to pay for

healthcare, such as cutting

back on food and other es-

sentials.

The poll also found sub-

stantial anxiety among

lower-income workers and

those with the highest de-

ductibles, with 4 in 10 report-

ing frustration with their

coverage, and nearly a quar-

ter saying they’re angry.

Backers of Medicare for

all highlight these struggles

in their calls for major

change.

Medicare-for-all plans

promise much lower out-of-

pocket costs for American

patients, eliminating high

deductibles and premiums,

but would raise taxes for

some.

But even as millions of

workers struggle with medi-

cal bills, most continue to ex-

press satisfaction with their

health benefits, a paradox

that has long characterized

Americans’ views about

healthcare.

Overall, close to three-

quarters of U.S. workers

with job-based coverage

said they feel grateful, the

Times/Kaiser Family Foun-

dation poll found.

“Americans are famous

for holding contradictory

opinions,” said Mollyann

Brodie, who oversees Kai-

ser’s polling. “This challenge

illustrates the fundamental

dilemma in getting people to

trust the promise of lower

costs and better benefits

under a brand-new system.”

The incremental health-

care strategy pushed by the

moderates hews more

closely to the country’s polit-

ical tradition.

Medicare and Medicaid

covered far fewer people

when the programs were

created in the 1960s, but

Democrats and Republi-

cans gradually expanded eli-

gibility for the government

health plans, adding pa-

tients with kidney failure,

poor adults without children

and others over the years.

Similarly, Clinton and a

Republican Congress cre-

ated the Children’s Health

Insurance Program in the

late 1990s amid concerns

about uninsured children

from working-class families

who made too much to qual-

ify for Medicaid.

And the 2010 healthcare

law focused on closing re-

maining gaps, providing

money to states to expand

their Medicaid programs

further and establishing

regulated marketplaces for

Americans who didn’t get

health benefits at work.

Whether an incremental

approach will suffice this

year for an angry Demo-

cratic electorate remains

unclear.

“The public’s outrage

and frustration with the cost

and complexity of our cur-

rent healthcare system ... in-

cluding employer-based

coverage,” Jennings said, “is

opening the door for change

and closing it on those who

are perceived as status quo

defenders.”

Value of private coverage is up for debate

[Healthcare,from A1]

CANDIDATESBernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren

and Kamala Harris (not pictured) want “Medicare

for all” to replace employment-based insurance.

Justin SullivanGetty Images

The conversation comes
after the November elec-
tions delivered the most ra-
cially diverse Congress in
history and as Democrats
nationwide look to improve
representation and out-
reach in their party among
Latinos, Asian Americans
and young people.
But few of those groups
have been as loyal to the
Democratic Party as black
women.
Long a crucial part of
winning Democratic coali-
tions, black women vote
often — in 2008 and 2012, the
turnout rate for eligible
black women voters was
about 7 in 10, higher than any
other race or gender sub-
group — and reliably Demo-
cratic. Exit poll data show
some 96% of black women
who voted in 2008 and 2012
cast ballots for President
Obama, while a majority of
white women voted for his
Republican opponents.
Some attribute Hillary
Clinton’s loss in 2016 — when
turnout among black wom-
en fellseveral percentage
points — to her campaign’s
failure to mobilize black vot-
ers. Exit polls show some
94% of black women voted
for Clinton.
Black women were also
the party’s most faithful vot-
ers in the 2018 midterm elec-
tions, with 92% of those who
voted supporting Demo-
cratic candidates, according
to exit polling.
While black voters make
up a relatively small per-
centage of California’s
electorate— about 6% of
likely voters — the state’s
size means the number of
black voters here rivals that
in New York or Georgia.
Democratic leaders say
that to win, the party must
focus more on turnout
among women of color
and elect officials who will
execute such a plan.
“People are tired of feel-
ing marginalized,” Assem-
blywoman Sydney Kam-
lager-Dove (D-Los Angeles)
said. “It’s one thing to con-
tinue to ask someone to
knock on doors or to write a
check, but not to be consid-
ered viable as a candidate ...
and to not say, ‘Hey, why
don’t you run to be a dele-
gate?’ ”
Following the 2016 elec-
tion, Kamlager-Dove and
other California leaders
were shocked to learn that
national Democrats didn’t
have cohesive plans to sup-
port black women running
for office, prompting activ-
ists to organize.
“I think as you see more
black women deciding to run
for office, then you see other
black women saying we can’t
just have this sister out here
on her own. We have to have
people helping her win,” she
said. “I think just having
someone like Kamala Harris

run to be president of the

United States says that if we

want this woman to get

there or even have a shot,

then we have to be organized

as black women.”

Kamlager-Dove was one

of dozens who signed an

open letter to the Demo-

cratic National Committee

in 2017, criticizing the lack of

black women in top party

positions in Washington and

state organizations, and the

“scant support” for black

women candidates. Quoting

activist Fannie Lou Hamer’s

1964 speech demanding a

more prominent role for Af-

rican American Democrats,

the letter said, “We are ‘sick

and tired of being sick and

tired.’ ”

That message was ech-

oed in Ellis’ bid to lead the

California Democratic

Party.

Her campaign T-shirts

bore an image of a folding

chair, representing the

words of late New York Rep.

Shirley Chisholm — the first

black woman to seek a major

party’s nomination for presi-

dent — advising women to

bring one “if they don’t give

you a seat at the table.” Be-

fore the election for party

chair, hundreds — mostly

women — rallied outside the

convention hall to cheer Ellis

on, some carrying large cut-

out images of notable black

women in history: Sojourner

Truth, Angela Davis and

black transgender activist

Marsha P. Johnson.

“Black women are not

just the margin of victory,”

Ellis yelled into a pink bull-

horn as supporters raised

their fists. “But you cannot

win without us!”

Her eventual loss to Los

Angeles labor leader Rusty

Hicks came as a surprise to

supporters of both candi-

dates, who witnessed the

large and vocal crowds be-

hind Ellis. Hicks, who was

backed by several major

unions and a long list of

elected officials, was seen by

some as an even-keeled pick

who would prevent the party

from moving too far left.

After the race, Hicks said

he would install a new com-

mittee, co-chaired by Ellis

and two others, that will

make suggestions on how to

improve representation in

party leadership. More than

half the 24-person commit-

tee is made up of women,

and more than two-thirds

are people of color. Its lead

chair, Ada Briceño, is the

first Latina to helm the Or-

ange County Democratic

Party.

“It is undeniable that Af-

rican American women are a

core part of the success of

the Democratic Party and

progressive politics both in

California and in this coun-

try,” Hicks said. “I think that

we have an opportunity in

California to be an example

of how we ensure that all

voices are at the table, in

particular those voices that

play such an important role

in our collective success.”

Ellis said she’s heard

from dozens of people, many

of them black women, who

have told her they’re recon-

sidering their commitment

to the state party after her

loss, making work to im-

prove representation in

party leadership all the

more urgent.

“I think black women are

recognizing our power and

are choosing to take a closer

look at where we are going to

put our loyalties and our

votes,” Ellis said. “We as a

community don’t need the

Democratic Party. The

Democratic Party needs us

and we need to remember

that.”

Deana Becker, a delegate

from Marina del Rey, says

she has been discouraged by

the lack of black women in

high-profile positions.

“Everybody wants us to

be the pillars holding every-

one up, but nobody wants us

to be on the pedestal,” she

said.

Aimee Allison, founder of

advocacy group She The

People, says Ellis’ defeat

represents a missed oppor-

tunity not only to elect a

woman of color to helm a

major state party, but to

adopt a more aggressively li-

beral agenda.

“I think the Democratic

Party playbook has for a

long time kowtowed to the

fears of the white moderate,”

Allison said. With California

positioning itself as a leader

in the so-called resistance

against the Trump adminis-

tration, Allison added, “This

isn’t the time for all that.”

Nevertheless, some say

Ellis’ campaign galvanized

black women in the party in

a way not seen in years.

Dezie Woods-Jones, a for-

mer Oakland City Council

member who founded Bay

Area advocacy group Black

Women Organized for Politi-

cal Action in 1968, said Ellis

inspired scores of new activ-

ists to join the party or be-

come more engaged.

“Once in a while, while

we’re out here in the strug-

gle, we see an emergence, a

spark that triggers people

and energy that we haven’t

seen for a while,” she said.

Former legislative staffer

Kellie Todd runs a quarterly

call for elected officials, non-

profit executives and others

to discuss how best to pro-

mote black women candi-

dates and causes. The week

after Ellis’ loss, Todd said,

they discussed what to do

next to encourage black

women to run for office.

“The door that [Ellis]

opened is for black women to

feel empowered in the party

process like they never had

before,” Todd said. “The goal

is to keep that momentum

going.”

One strategy black wom-

en should consider is run-

ning against Democratic in-

cumbents in primary elec-

tions, Allison said, adding

that women of color have

previously been “least sup-

ported, most challenged and

most undercut” in those

contests.

Others are recruiting

their peers to run for party

positions.

At the Black Women’s

Meetup in June, Los Angeles

activist Dallas Fowler pulled

aside two women who were

attending their first political

convention.

“We have to get women in

leadership positions and the

only way we do it is to be pre-

sent,” Fowler told them.

Carmen Brammer, a 57-

year-old tech worker from

San Jose, never thought

about getting involved in her

party until she heard about

Ellis’ run for chair.

“I just said I have to really

get to understand this party

because I want to make sure

it represents me,” she said.

But Fowler, who has been

a delegate for more than a

decade, is now considering

taking a step back, focusing

instead on running for Los

Angeles City Council.

“I’m still a proud Demo-

crat. That doesn’t mean that

my values have changed,”

Fowler said, noting that

while she’ll still encourage

others to participate, she’s

frustrated that she hasn’t

helped lead major commit-

tees or caucuses. “I’ve got

one foot in and one foot out.

And I’m watching.”

Assemblywoman Shirley

Weber (D-San Diego) said

she understands.

“I feel that way some-

times,” Weber said. “But

there’s a gospel song, ‘Where

Could I Go But to the Lord?’

The same is true here. Where

you gonna go? You’re not go-

ing to join the Republican

Party. You’re not a Trump

supporter.”

Weber said that over the

years several black women

have told her they’re

through with the party —

that they’re done spending

so much time, money and ef-

fort for so little recognition.

But, she said, a few weeks

later she’ll see them back at

a county meeting or receive a

phone call to strategize.

“They are not the type

that says, ‘I don’t care what

happens in the world, I’m

just going to go home,’ ” We-

ber said. “These are not sit-

down people.”

Black women renew leadership push

[B lack women,from A1]

THE AUDIENCE CHEERSfor Bay Area activist and then-Democratic candidate Kimberly Ellis during a

meeting for black women at the California Democratic Party Convention this summer in San Francisco.

Photographs by Kent NishimuraLos Angeles Times

THE CANDIDACIES of Ellis, left, and Sen. Kamala

Harris have inspired more black women to seek lead-

ership roles in the party they have long supported.

CNN offers bait,

candidates take it

Democratic presidential

hopefuls went into the

debates fighting Trump

but ended up fighting one

another. CALENDAR, E