As many Bay Area activists already know Don Bechler, the founder and director of Single Payer Now, passed away on October 24, 2020. He will be greatly missed by so many in the movement who knew him for his tireless advocacy, warm friendship, sense of humor, and frequent smile.
Activities of Single Payer Now had slowed down greatly in 2020 due to COVID and then stopped completely with Don’s passing.
A group of us, after taking a break to grieve the loss of Don, are now trying to revive SPN in his absence. Of course, this is challenging, since he was the wind in our sails and the one who really kept things moving forward. So please be patient as we take the time to update the website and resume the work of Single Payer Now.
Although we are still coping with many COVID restrictions, the near future of the single payer movement is very promising.
The deep fissures in our social safety net in general, and our health care system in particular that were exposed by COVID will certainly lend impetus to our struggle. Additionally we have a Governor who frequently expressed support for single payer during his campaign and on the federal level we have a new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, who is a single payer supporter. All of this bodes well for the future of the movement for single payer.
Please stay tuned. We hope that by July we will be up and running again.
The best way to honor Don’s memory is to keep the fight going!