Vigil Honors Health Care 'Victims'

A health care reform rally took the form of a vigil in Schenley Park Wednesday evening.

About 150 people lit candles and held pictures, giving a face and name to those personally suffering because of inadequate coverage.

Parts of the event took on a somber feel, but soon passionate speakers cut through the air using a bull horn.

Local activist group MoveOn organized the event, and pushed for health care reform with a strong public health insurance option.

The group used the acronym R.E.A.L. to describe their health care vision: Ready right away, part of a plan to cover Everyone, Accountable to the public, Large enough to contain costs.

“This is a life and death issue we're talking about,” said Sandy Fox, president of the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Single Payer Health Care. “It takes the lives of people when we don't have a health care system that protects all of its people."

Fox used the term “non-system” to describe America’s health care. In its current form, she said health care benefits the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

"People are dying because they can't get health care and people are going bankrupt because they can't afford their co-pays,” said Fox. “That's a terrible choice to offer us, I think we deserve better than that, all of us."

MoveOn wants Congress to pass the health care reform as soon as they return to Washington.