We need Medicare for All
In the wake of the dramatic collapse of Trumpcare, Sen. Bernie Sanders is going on offense.
Trumpcare may have died in Congress, but that does not mean Republicans have given up on destroying the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. Trump’s cronies in the administration will do everything possible to sabotage it. And Big Pharma and predatory insurance companies will use the chaos to push “fixes” that further entrench their power over life-and-death medical decisions.
To fight back, Democrats need to unite behind a bold and clear alternative like Medicare for All, also known as “single payer” health care. Within hours of Trumpcare failing, Sen. Sanders announced he will introduce a new Medicare for All bill in the Senate — and now we need to show just how many Americans support this simple and commonsense alternative.
Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All.
Unfortunately, some Democratic leaders do not share Sen. Sanders’ vision. At a town hall meeting, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi insisted that those who support single payer should focus on state options instead. Sen. Chuck Schumer even recently repeated an offer to work with Trump to “fix” Obamacare. In contrast, Sen. Jeff Merkley immediately pivoted to the possibility of Medicare for All in the wake of Trump’s humiliating health care failure. Progressives know that we could solve today’s problems by expanding a program that is already up and running — and working.
The real problem is not the modest but still life-changing reforms of the Affordable Care Act. Millions of people have already been helped — people with pre-existing conditions, young adults who get to stay on their parents’ plan, beneficiaries of the Medicaid expansion and those who would have faced lifetime caps on coverage. American health care costs so much and heals so little in part because predatory insurance companies and Big Pharma stand between people and their doctors and use monopoly power to rob us blind.
Medicare for All would leave the medical system in place, but replace the for-profit insurance companies that drive up costs without making us any healthier. So it’s no wonder that most Americans — including 41 percent of Republicans — support Medicare for All. We need to put pressure on Democrats to be bold and put Republicans on the record opposing a universal health care plan with broad support.
Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All.
Medicare already covers 40 million Americans over the age of 65, providing quality care at prices that are much lower than the private market. If we start by lowering the Medicare eligibility age, it will provide competition to bloated predatory insurance companies and bring us closer to the day when people are covered from birth.
Medicare and Medicaid are our nation’s most effective and efficient health care programs, but right-wing Republicans have long had their sights set on dismantling our social safety net. Their ultimate goal has been to end Medicare as we know it and cause skyrocketing premiums and loss of coverage for nearly 57 million of us. We cannot fight back with half-hearted, corporate solutions. We need to show the millions of Americans who love Medicare that progressives have an alternative vision to make it available to all.
Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All.
Originally published at act.credoaction.com.
