Last November 30, a collection of physicians and activists were in Washington, DC, its federal buildings still largely closed for business thanks to the pandemic and fear of another Trumpist uprising. They were there to protest what they warned was an attempt to end Medicare as we know it.

Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), the leading group behind the effort, had been trying for some time to make its displeasure about the “direct contracting” program known. After collecting more than thirteen thousand signatures for a petition opposing the initiative, they’d asked repeatedly for a meeting with Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Xavier Becerra to hand it to him. They called, emailed, left voice messages, all to no avail. The most they got was a single response from a staffer, sent the night before their DC visit, promising to set up a meeting sometime in the future.

The next day, the group marched into HHS headquarters, petition in hand, only to be stopped by security and told that was as far as they could go without an appointment. They’d have to ask someone to come downstairs and pick it up — only to learn there was no one available in the offices to do it. After close to an hour, the group left the petition with security and departed, having been blocked from carrying out one of the most basic and foremost rights enumerated in the constitution.