An August poll found that support for Medicare for All has risen significantly in the past year, from 54 to 60 percent. Among voters who have significant medical debt ($1,000 or more) or who have been denied treatment by their insurance company, that support rises to 68 and 71 percent respectively. A whopping 75 percent of voters under the age of 30 support Medicare for All.
Retired UE General President Carl Rosen and Staff Coordinator John Thompson represented UE at a high-level Medicare for All strategy meeting at the end of August. Hosted by close UE ally National Nurses United, the strategy meeting mapped out ambitious but realistic plans to win Medicare for All in the coming years. The meeting included labor unions, health care justice organizations, and working-class community organizations that have Medicare for All as a significant part of their work.
Abdul El-Sayed, who made Medicare for All the centerpiece of his campaign, won the Democratic primary for one of Michigan’s U.S. Senate seats on August 4. The former public health official was endorsed by the United Auto Workers, National Nurses United, the Association of Flight Attendants, and the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan.
A coalition of over 325 unions and other organizations, including UE, has released a letter warning against letting “skeptical health care policy wonks” keep working people from demanding “the boldest possible reform” of our healthcare system, Medicare for All.
Our broken health care system is getting worse by the day. With recent cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, 17 million more people could lose their health care this year. This is on top of 26 million people who are already uninsured. Employers continue to demand that workers pay ever higher shares of the cost of insurance, while insurance company profits continue to rise.
On Wednesday, June 18, join the Labor Campaign for Single Payer for a webinar about how the labor movement can Reclaim Medicare from corporate greed. LCSP has developed a white paper summarizing what union leaders need to know about Medicare Advantage, including a list of questions to ask at the bargaining table regarding Medicare Advantage plans. While the webinar will focus on the devastating impacts Medicare Advantage has on union workers and retirees, all are invited to attend.
Over the next two weeks, UE-allied organizations will be holding two important events about how to fix our broken healthcare system and how to fight back against new corporate initiatives to take advantage of seniors — both of which you can join from the comfort of your home!
The annual Medicare for All Strategy Conference sponsored by Healthcare Now will be held virtually from May 28-June 1. On Monday, June 3, at 8pm Eastern Time, the Labor Campaign for Single Payer and other groups will be holding a webinar titled “Taking Advantage: How corporate health insurers harm America's seniors.”
On Wednesday, May 17, legislation to create a universal, “Medicare for All” healthcare system — a UE demand since the 1940s — was reintroduced in both the House and Senate. The House bill was introduced with a record number of co-sponsors, including the majority of the Democratic caucus and 13 powerful legislators who are the highest-ranking Democrats in their committees.
On Wednesday, May 17, Medicare for All legislation will be re-introduced into both the U.S. House and Senate. Call your U.S. Senators and Representative today and ask them to be original co-sponsors of this important legislation.
Medicare — the enormously popular government insurance system which has provided healthcare for our nation’s elderly population for over fifty years — could be effectively handed over to Wall Street within less than a decade, thanks to an under-the-radar program called “REACH.” Call your member of Congress today at (202) 224-3121, and tell them to take action to stop REACH.