An unknown number of individuals, who died during the Coronavirus pandemic, were buried in mass graves in New York City's potter's field, located on Hart Island. Source : Melinda Hunt, preview of Webm video that was cropped from the original (CC BY 3.0)

AOC didn’t fight for Medicare For All during a pandemic, but she’ll help pay for your funeral if you died from COVID-19

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fighting to give you money if you die, but not if you live.

By Progress New York Staff

Updated 14 Feb 2021 13:40 U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14) made a joint announcement this week with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) that $260 million would be included in the latest Coronavirus relief package for reimbursements of funeral expenses for those, who succumbed to COVD-19. Survivors would have to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recoup their costs, according to a report published by the New York Daily News.

The decision to set aside Government funding to pay for funerals but not for a universal healthcare system struck some as inhumane and ghoulish on social media. “What level psychopath is that ?” asked @SarcasmStardust on Twitter. Another Twitter user, @NimeshPatel101, described disappointment in U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, regretting that, “AOC is not demanding to keep them alive via Medicare For All.”

The criticism befalling U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez followed a social media campaign on Twitter to compel her to fight for a full-floor vote for a “Medicare For All” bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. As reported by Progress New York, U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez rejected pressure tactics to call for such a full-floor vote, and her critics used her stubbornness as evidence that she placed more value in maintaining a mutually-beneficial relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 12) than on fulfilling her campaign promise to fight for a universal healthcare system.

To some, receiving reimbursement for funeral costs for COVID-19 deaths without having access to a universal healthcare system represented failure of leadership. “Help us while we are alive,” wrote @nunyabiz55 on Twitter. For this report, the office of U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez never answered a media request.

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