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FEATU R ES
8 An Age-Old Dilemma
At age 64, Luke Asbury is too old to qualify for or afford his own
insurance, but isn't old enough to get Medicare. Paying for healthcare
out of his own pocket means he skips prostate antigen tests, skimps
on his daily dosage of medications, and hasn't been out to see a movie
in eight months. Is this what we want for our seniors, for ourselves?
By Lucia Hwang
12 A Work in Progress
Must public health activists go begging for low-profit vaccines
in a high-profit drug marketplace?
By Carl Bloice and Conn Hallinan
18 Living History
Elizabeth Pataki has lived through many changes in her 46-year
career as an RN. Everything she's seen convinces her that nurses
must be activists to do their jobs right.
By Lucia Hwang
DEPARTMENTS
4 News Briefs
Katrina reunion highlights the nation's dire need for a single-
payer healthcare system with an equal standard of care; March
bargaining news from around the state
7 Fightin' Words
How California nurses are cleaning up politics and challenging
corporations for the health of our kids and future generations.
By Rose Ann DeMoro
18
on the cover: Volunteer RNs who cared for
Hurricane Katrina survivors reunited on March 15
in San Francisco to share stories and explain why
the best disaster prevention is extending Medicare
to everybody.
Photograph by Jaclyn Higgs.
8
Contents
An article titled "Behind the Redwood Curtain" that ran
in the March 2006 issue may have left readers unclear about
whether St. Joseph Health System—Humboldt County in
Eureka accepts Medi-Cal patients. St. Joseph Health
System—Humboldt County does accept Medi-Cal patients.
