[ Sanders Introduces Medicare for All with 14 Colleagues in the
Senate]
[[link removed]]

MEDICARE FOR ALL LEGISLATION  
[[link removed]]


 

Bernie Sanders
May 12, 2023
Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Sanders Introduces Medicare for All with 14 Colleagues in the
Senate _

, Gage Skidmore

 

_More than 1 in 3 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. linked to lack of
health insurance._

WASHINGTON, May 12 – In the midst of a pandemic that has claimed
nearly one million American lives – more than one third of which
have been linked to a lack of health insurance –Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) and fourteen of his colleagues in the Senate on Thursday
introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2022 to guarantee health care
in the United States as a fundamental human right to all.

Sanders is joined on the 2022 legislation by all original cosponsors,
including Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory
Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich
(D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ben Ray
Luján (D-N.M), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex
Padilla (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The Medicare for All of
2022 has also been endorsed by more than 60 major organizations,
including National Nurses United, American Medical Student
Association, Nation Union of Health Care Workers, Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
(AFA-CWA), Indivisible, Public Citizen, People’s Action, National
Immigration Law Center, Center for Popular Democracy, and Working
Families Party.

“The American people understand, as I do, that health care is a
human right, not a privilege and that we must end the international
embarrassment of the United States being the only major country on
earth that does not guarantee health care to all of its citizens,”
SAID SEN. SANDERS. “It is not acceptable to me, nor to the American
people, that over 70 million people today are either uninsured or
underinsured. As we speak, there are millions of people who would like
to go to a doctor but cannot afford to do so. This is an outrage. In
America, your health and your longevity should not be dependent on
your wealth. Health care is a human right that all Americans,
regardless of income, are entitled to and they deserve the best health
care that our country can provide.”

“Health care should be a right for all, not a luxury for some,”
SAID SEN. BLUMENTHAL. “In the United States of America, millions of
Americans go to sleep at night worried about a procedure they can’t
access or a treatment their family can’t afford. Our status quo is
unacceptable. Regardless of age, income, or zip-code, access to
quality, timely medical care should be guaranteed for all who need it.
I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this landmark
legislation.”

“Despite being the wealthiest country on the planet and spending
more per capita on health care than other comparable nations, America
lags behind on critical health measures such as infant and maternal
mortality rates,” SAID SEN. BOOKER. “Compared to other high-income
countries, the U.S. has the highest number of hospitalizations from
preventable causes and the highest rate of avoidable deaths. Even with
the advances in coverage, too many Americans are still afraid to seek
the care they need due to the high cost of care in our country. We
need to urgently transform this broken system by lowering costs and
expanding access to high quality health care to everyone. As such, I
am proud to join colleagues in reintroducing legislation that would
implement Medicare for all, guaranteeing affordable health care to
everyone as a right, not a privilege.”

“Health care in America is simply too expensive and insurance
companies continue to value their profits over people – it’s
unacceptable,” SAID SEN. GILLIBRAND. “I am thrilled to join my
colleagues in championing Medicare for All. This is the most effective
way to create affordable, public health care for every American. As
we’ve been reminded in recent days, health care has to be a right,
not a privilege.”

“New Mexicans should never have to choose between putting food on
their table and going to doctors’ appointments,” SAID SEN.
HEINRICH. “That’s why I am proud to cosponsor the Medicare for All
Act, to expand health care coverage and provide access to hospital
services, emergency services, prescription drugs, oral health, vision,
and audiology services to all Americans.”

“Guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care is a right,
not a privilege,” SAID SEN. HIRONO. “The last few years have shown
us how urgent and necessary it is to ensure every person has access to
quality, affordable health care—and Medicare-for-All is one way to
achieve that. This legislation would benefit millions of people across
the country—no one should have to choose between crippling debt or
receiving comprehensive health care.”

“In the richest country in the world, it’s an injustice that
millions of people lack basic health care,” SAID SEN. MARKEY. “Too
many Americans live on the cusp of financial collapse if they face
unforeseen medical emergencies or devastating diagnoses, or are forced
to forego critical treatment altogether. As our nation heals from a
public health crisis that has shone a stark light on the disparities
that have long existed in our health care system, our answer is clear:
Medicare for All. I am proud to cosponsor this important legislation
to make universal, affordable health coverage a right for every
American.”

“Health care is a right, not a privilege reserved for the healthy
and the wealthy,” SAID SEN. MERKLEY. “But that right is being
poorly served by our current complex, fragmented, expensive, and
stressful system. Accessing health care should be simple and seamless.
Solely by virtue of living in America, you should know you will get
the care you need, when you need it. We’ve made some tremendous
strides in expanding access to health care across our nation, but
it’s way past time to simplify health care, lower patients’ costs,
and embrace Medicare for All.”

“Health care is a human right and it’s past time that we pass
Medicare for All to ensure that every American has access to quality,
affordable health care, regardless of zip code or tax bracket,” SAID
SEN. PADILLA. “No American should go bankrupt because of exorbitant
medical costs. Congress can and must act to better control health care
costs.”

“Medicare for All guarantees that every American will be able to get
the health care they need when they need it,” SAID SEN. WARREN.
“No one should ever go broke because of a medical bill or have to
ration life-saving medications to make ends meet. Health care is a
basic human right, and I will always fight for basic human rights.”

Today in the United States, 68,000 Americans die each year because
they cannot afford the health care they desperately need, and millions
more suffer unnecessarily because of delayed treatment. About 44
percent of the adult population, some 112 million Americans, are
struggling to pay for the medical care they need and over 70 million
Americans are uninsured or under-insured because of high deductibles
and premiums. In addition, life expectancy in the U.S. is much lower
than most other industrialized countries and infant mortality rates
are much higher. During the pandemic, the crisis that is the American
health care system has only worsened. And yet, the U.S. spends twice
as much per capita on health care than virtually any other major
nation.

Implemented over a four-year period, the Medicare for All Act of 2022
establishes a federally administered national health insurance program
that would ensure quality and comprehensive health care to all. This
would include dental care, vision coverage, and hearing aids – with
no out-of-pocket expenses, insurance premiums, deductibles, or
co-payments – and save middle class families thousands of dollars a
year.

This legislation would also create a health care system that finally
puts people over profits. Today, as millions of American families face
bankruptcy and financial ruin because of the outrageously high cost of
health care, the CEOs of 178 major health care companies collectively
made $3.2 billion in total compensation in 2020 – up 31% from 2019.
While nearly one out of four Americans cannot afford the life-saving
medicine their doctors prescribe, last year Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson,
and AbbVie – three giant pharmaceutical companies – increased
their profits by over 90 percent to $54 billion. Meanwhile, the CEOs
of just 8 prescription drug companies made $350 million in total
compensation in 2020.

However, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare for
All would save $650 billion each year, improve the economy, and
eliminate all out-of- pocket health care costs. Other studies, such as
from experts at Yale University, estimate it could save upwards of
$450 billion per year. Even a study done by the right-wing Mercatus
Center estimated that Medicare for All would save Americans more than
$2 trillion over a decade.

Read the summary, here
[[link removed]].
Read the fact sheet, here
[[link removed]].
Read the bill text, here
[[link removed]].

* Medicare for All
[[link removed]]
* health insurance
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]