Below are details on the 3 candidates running unopposed for the 3 open seats on the 2022 ISPC Board of Directors. For additional questions about the election process, please reach out to Monica Maalouf at monica@ILsinglepayer.org.
Bill Bianchi
How long have you been a member of ISPC? Approximately 15 years
Why is single-payer health care important to you?
On a personal level: I've experienced and resented the huge amounts of money I have had to spend in order to acquire only moderately adequate coverage. I strongly resented the periods of no insurance coverage that I experienced and that could have had disastrous financial or medical consequences.
On a broader level I am appalled by the inequality in terms of health care, death and suffering, not to mention the financial burdens that are imposed on most US residents by our for-profit health care financing system. I believe that a national single payer system will benefit everyone and bring some calm and peace to our contentious country.
How have you been involved in the single-payer movement?
I've been a presenter in many ISPC education programs and taken part in actions such as parades and demonstrations. Along with our ally, Jane Addams Senior Caucus I participated in the successful action against the AMA. I've served on the Board for several years.
What contribution would you like to make to the ISPC Board?
I will work to develop enough resources to hire a full time Ex. director for ISPC. I think that is key to our long-term success. I will help new board members get up to speed on ISPC operations and media.
I will assist as needed to make our campaign "Every District for Single Payer" a success.
I want to establish a program of regular communication with our supporters.
I especially want to develop closer ties and cooperation with organizations that are also working to bring about single payer, such as Jane Addames Senior Caucus, the CDSA health care working group, and the Illinois Poor Peoples' Campaign.
What other aspects of health care justice have you been involved in?
On my own, I have worked with political candidates to educate them about Single Payer and how it can reduce inequality in health care outcomes.
Cathleen Jensen
How long have you been a member of ISPC? Since 2015
Why is single-payer health care important to you?
My short answer:
As an Occupational Therapist, I want to see all people live meaningful lives; do what they need and want to do by accessing the care, tools, and technology that can assist them in reaching their goals. I see the current healthcare system as a barrier rather than an augmentative support system. I know we can do much better and I want to provide my voice as a healthcare recipient and as a healthcare provider.
Long answer:
I’m an Occupational Therapist. Anyone who works in healthcare can see the failings of our current healthcare system but Occupational Therapists have a unique perspective. Occupational Therapy is a very holistic niche of healthcare. Because we are looking at all of the challenges that keep people from being able to do what they need to do or want to do in life, it’s been easy for me to see how the failings of this healthcare system affect people. Piles of mail from insurance companies and Medicare overwhelm patients both mentally and literally physically. Referral processes restrict access to care. Providers accept limited types of insurance. A shortage of skilled providers affects a person’s ability to manage health conditions and do what they need and want to do each day. Racism, culture, and disability are factors that create disparities in healthcare.
Top earners of hospitals are the CEOs, many who are not themselves healthcare professionals. They focused prepandemicly on improving profit margins by cutting costs in ways that affect care. Keeping staffing lean, using “on-call” help, relying on “just in time” inventory, and outsourcing things like materials management, food service, environmental services, and laundry all contributed to deaths of healthcare workers during the pandemic and poor service to our communities. The unrealistic productivity demands on healthcare providers has caused many healthcare workers to become chronically ill themselves or leave their professions altogether.
As a healthcare provider myself and as a person deeply concerned with fair treatment of workers and safe working conditions, I know the system we have now is literally killing us. We cannot do worse than the current system and I know we can do better. That’s why I support a single payer healthcare system.
How have you been involved in the single-payer movement?
I have been a supporter of ISPC since 2015 as a member. I have attended rallies to support healthcare rights and staffed information tabling events at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and the Logan Square Farmers Market. Informally I share information on ISPC and the benefits of a single payer system to anyone who is open to discussion. I was a member of a health and safety committee at my union, SEIU Local 73, and presented information on single payer healthcare to the committee.
What contribution would you like to make to the ISPC Board?
I would like to expand outreach efforts particularly with labor unions by using my connections within the labor movement to gain greater support for single payer healthcare. I would like to help move the conversation amongst healthcare workers from what is wrong to what solutions do we need.
What other aspects of health care justice have you been involved in?
In my healthcare career, a large portion of my job was dedicated to helping clients access care through dealing with healthcare reimbursers, advocating needs to primary care providers (PCPs), and making sure clients got what they needed from me and other healthcare professionals. I’ve completed graduate work to better understand health disparities. Both as an Occupational Therapist and as a Union Steward/Union Rep and Elected officer, I have dealt with workers compensation cases and advocated for worker safety, written accommodations letters, and dealt directly with employers to advocate for reasonable accommodations to allow workers to be able to return to work safely . When covid hit at UIC, I filed Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) complaints, addressed the UIC Board of Trustees, and had audience with the Governor's staff to fight for the basic personal protective equipment (PPE) we lacked and desperately needed. I organized a memorial May 15, 2020 at Strogers and UIC Hospitals for four hospital workers who died from covid at the beginning of the pandemic. I am a trainer and leader for four chronic disease self-management programs developed at Stanford University: Take Charge of Your Health, Chronic Pain Self-Management, Take Charge of Your Diabetes, and Live Well! Work Well!, a program for workers with chronic health conditions. I train new leaders and lead workshops myself through Rush University.
Shannon Rotolo
How long have you been a member of ISPC? 3 years
Why is single-payer health care important to you? As a pharmacist, I see every day the impact our broken health insurance system has on my patients.
How have you been involved in the single-payer movement?
In June 2019, I attended the rally at the BCBS of IL and AMA buildings. This was my first experience with the single-payer movement. After that rally, I joined ISPC and PNHP, started writing Letters to Editor (and was lucky enough to be published in two Chicago newspapers), and participated in the ISPC speaker’s training the following fall. Since that time, I've had the opportunity to speak at a variety of in-person and virtual events, as well as be a guest on Joe Sparks' Medicare For All podcast, and provide quotes for multiple news outlets. I have served on the ISPC board for 2 years, initially as secretary and most recently as board president. I continue to write, often calling on pharmacists to take action and support single-payer, and recently was able to collaborate with a group looking at not just financial but also logistic toxicity of high drug prices.
What contribution would you like to make to the ISPC Board? During a future term, I would like to focus on member engagement.
What other aspects of health care justice have you been involved in?
I am interested in reproductive justice, and have volunteered as a pharmacist consultant with Planned Parenthood. I also was active in a coalition focused on passing the I-DROP legislation, so that individuals or families with unused, unexpired medication they no longer needed would have a legal pathway to donate it to others.