In a historic step toward replacing America’s uniquely expensive and deadly for-profit healthcare system with a humane program that would leave no one behind, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on Wednesday will officially introduce Medicare for All legislation that policy experts and advocates have praised as comprehensive, strong, and “battle-ready.”
“The state of our healthcare system is absolutely atrocious,” Jayapal told reporters on the eve of the bill’s release. “How is it possible that the United States, the richest country in the world, is the only major country that does not guarantee healthcare to our residents?”
“Accept no substitutes—only single-payer, Medicare for All can fix the grave dysfunctions and injustices of the American health care system.”
—Dr. Adam Gaffney, PNHPPeople all over the U.S., she added, “are literally dying because they can’t afford insulin or the cancer treatment they need.”
What’s needed, she said, is a “complete transformation of our health care system and we mean a system where there are no private insurance companies” providing essential healthcare services that would be guaranteed to all under her proposal. And what universal care means, she explained, was simple: “Everybody in, nobody out.”
Under Jayapal’s plan, the U.S. would transition to Medicare for All over a two-year period and every American would receive comprehensive coverage, including dental, vision, reproductive health services, mental health, long-term care, and more—all of which would be free at the point of use.
According to the congresswoman’s office, “The Medicare for All Act of 2019 improves and expands the overwhelmingly successful and popular Medicare program, so that every person living in the United States has guaranteed access to healthcare with comprehensive benefits.”
Scheduled for 11:15 AM ET, watch the introduction of the bill live streamed :
In her on the bill at Vox, journalist Sarah Kliff’s called it “the most ambitious plan for government-run health care yet.” Kliff reports:
Read the two-page summary of the bill (pdf). Read the ten-page section-by-section overview (pdf).
Along with lead co-sponsor Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Jayapal’s 120-page legislation will be unveiled with the original backing of 106 House Democrats, and the Washington congresswoman said she expects that number to rise quickly amid surging grassroots energy behind Medicare for All as the only solution to America’s healthcare crisis.
Organizations and labor unions backing the bill—including Public Citizen, National Nurses United, Center for Popular Democracy, Business Initiative for Health Policy, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)—say that it has set a new bar for single-payer legislation in Congress, and that no one who believes in creating an affordable and universal system of care should settle for anything less.
“With the Medicare for All Act of 2019, we can provide coverage to every American, expand and improve coverage for every American – all at no additional cost, thanks to the massive waste and inefficiency that Medicare-for-All will eliminate. The time for Medicare-for-All has come.”
—Robert Weissman, Public Citizen”Accept no substitutes—only single-payer, Medicare for All can fix the grave dysfunctions and injustices of the American healthcare system,” said Dr. Adam Gaffney, president of PNHP and a critical care physician and faculty member at Harvard Medical School.
“Congress shouldn’t be distracted with incremental plans like a Medicare buy-in or public option,” Gaffney added, referring to the numerous half-measures Democrats have introduced as supposedly more “pragmatic” alternatives to Medicare for All. “The only way to achieve universal and comprehensive coverage is to eliminate the profits and waste of the private insurance industry, which drains hundreds of billions of dollars from our health care system each year.”
Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, lamented, “In America, we pay more—much more—for healthcare than other countries, and we get less—much less.”
“Tens of millions go uncovered,” Weissman added, while “tens of millions more find that their insurance doesn’t cover what they need and our health outcomes are inferior to other countries. We can do better. With the Medicare for All Act of 2019, we can provide coverage to every American, expand and improve coverage for every American—all at no additional cost, thanks to the massive waste and inefficiency that Medicare for All will eliminate. The time for Medicare for All has come.”
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