Blue America just reinstituted a new page for Medicare-For-All supporters. Every one of the dozen candidates on the page has specifically asked to be on the page and has told why they are campaigning on Medicare-for-All.A few minutes ago, I got off the phone with a candidate for Congress who is 100% positive that she's a woke progressive activist. But she's not for Medicare-for-All. She's not against it. But she's not for it. She hats think more about it. I told her to call me back after she's thought more about and can tell me why she backlit and can argue with someone about why she is absolutely going to vote for Pramila Jayapal's bill. I'm not looking to get behind a candidate and discover she or he was really another version of Kamala Harris who is kind of for it but not really. CNN Friday:
In the cauldron of a campaign-- under pressure from skeptical voters, political rivals, donors and other interest groups-- the fragile coalition that joined Sanders that day in 2017 has largely fractured. Only the Vermont independent, who has made Medicare for All the central theme of his second presidential bid, and Warren remain committed to the bill.Harris ultimately chose to push forward in late July with a new health care proposal. Her plan would grow Medicare over a decade on the way to universal coverage. But unlike Medicare for All, it would retain a role for the private insurance industry.The California Democrat recently confessed what had become obvious from early on in her campaign."I support Medicare for All. But as you may have noticed, over the course of the many months, I've not been comfortable with Bernie's plan, the Medicare for All plan," Harris said during remarks at a fundraiser in the Hamptons. "And I'll tell you why. And again, it comes back to listening."Back in August 2018, Harris had touted herself "the first Senate Democrat to come out in support of Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All bill." But in the time since then-- as she entered the presidential race and began campaigning-- she said voters she met on the trail and, specifically, union members had expressed their own misgivings. So Harris took heed and charted a different path from Medicare for All.Her proposal was pilloried from the left and center. Former Vice President Joe Biden's team-- which has taken the more moderate stance of expanding the Affordable Care Act-- called it a "have-it-every-which-way approach" that, because Harris has forsworn a middle-class tax hike to pay for it, meant she wasn't being "straight" with voters.
Is Kamala as bad as the bought-off opponents of Medicare-for-All like McConnell and Biden. Absolutely; just as bad. Here's a short sentence or two from their website or from a statement they gave me or a video or meme they released. If you believe we need Medicare-for-All supporters in Congress to support Medicare-for-All and make it a reality. Please click on the Blue America Medicare for All thermometer on the right and contribute to the candidate or candidates who you think have the best explanation.Jamaal Bowman (NY): "I strongly support Rep. Pramila's Medicare-for-All bill. It's time to design a healthcare system that works for everyone. No one should die or be turned away because they lack healthcare coverage. We are the wealthiest country in the world and its time for us to take care of our people. Rep. Pramila's bill does just that... Healthcare is a human right. Over 40,000 people die each year and millions are impacted do to lack of health care. So many are forced to deplete their savings and have their overall quality of life drastically disrupted through no fault of their own. It is immoral for us to boast to be the richest country in the world while millions of people suffer. The ideals of our nation and the progressive movement are rooted in our collective humanity, so we fight for the rights of all people. It is time for us to get Medicare for all done. "Shaniyat Chowdhury (NY) described why he is an enthusiastic supporter of single payer/Medicare for All: "The American healthcare system needs to be completely overhauled. Approximately 44 million people in this country have no health insurance, and an additional 38 million are underinsured. This means preventable catastrophes play out across our nation every day-- people lose their homes because they can’t pay their medical bills; they don’t seek medical attention when needed; and they ration the medication they need to survive and die as a result. Even for those who are insured, our current system is not an efficient or effective one. Americans pay some of the highest rates for medical care in the world but rank only 37th in health outcomes. This disparity is a result of health insurance companies wasting money on excessive administrative costs while patients have to fight for the services they need. Americans also pay significantly more for the same prescription drugs as our Canadian and European counterparts because the pharmaceutical industry has the power to set prices without any meaningful regulation. Our lawmakers have failed to act to make drug pricing fairer for all Americans, as they accept donations from the powerful pharmaceutical and insurance lobbies. We need to drastically shift how we see healthcare. It is not a commodity-- it is a human right. Every person in the United States should have access to good doctors and the medical care they need. Nobody should die because they can’t afford insulin, or lose their home because of exorbitant medical bills. There are approximately 55,000 people in our district without health insurance and this is unacceptable. Every New Yorker deserves healthcare."Audrey Denney (CA): "As your Representative in Congress, I will fight to protect and expand Medicare for All and decrease prescription drug costs." And that came with a video:Kara Eastman (NE):Robert Greenwald of BraveNewFilms made the video above about Kara Eastman's healthcare experience that led her to being such a big proponent of Medicare-For-All. Watch the short film. It's very emotive and consider that she told us she supports "Medicare for All so that no American has to go through what my mom did, unable to leave her house for the final year of her life-- all because a pharmaceutical company demanded $2,500 for a single pill, and her insurance didn't want to cover it. That's wrong. Our current healthcare system puts a price on the value of a human life-- and in the richest country on earth, it does not have to be this way... While Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE02) is notorious for voting 'Hell Yes' to take healthcare away from Nebraskans, I am a supporter of Medicare for All, which would provide medical care and drastically decrease healthcare costs for our state and our country. Americans deserve a system that allows them to have freedom when it comes to their medical care. I am proud to be a part of the Democratic Party’s growing movement to address the healthcare crisis in our country."Mark Gamba (OR): "The most comprehensive solution to our healthcare crisis being proposed is the Medicare for All Act of 2019 In Congress I will champion this bill and continue to strive towards the best, most visionary solutions to our healthcare crisis. I will work with my colleagues in Congress and around the country to provide better care to more people for less money."Marie Newman (IL): Michael Owens (GA)Eva Putzova (AZ):Mike Siegel (TX): "Medicare for All is the best approach to guarantee quality care for every American. Unfortunately, DC Democrats consistently attempt to dissuade me from full-throated support for Medicare for All; my primary election opponents prefer to say they are fighting for "access" to healthcare. But on the campaign trail, every day, I learn more stories of folks who won't be covered by other programs. For example: two retired Los Angeles teachers living in Harris County; the husband, a bit older, wasn't approved for a non-invasive cancer treatment by Medicare Advantage, and had to choose surgery instead. He is eligible for Medicare, but his younger wife's health insurance is tied to his, and if he left their current plan, she would go uncovered. Or another example: a disabled teenager who depends on long-term supports and services, who must rely on an inadequate patchwork of state and federal programs, supplemented by his family's major contributions. All of these folks would have piece of mind, and excellent care, under Rep. Jayapal's bill. We need to fight hard for Medicare for All, because 'meeting in the middle' on healthcare means leaving countless people behind. Half-measures will lead to more deaths and bankruptcies, more closed hospitals and ruined families. We need to keep fighting not for what is convenient, but for the best possible result for all of us... Healthcare is a human right, and I will fight for universal access by joining the Medicare for All caucus, working with nurses and retirees, and putting my shoulder to the wheel in this essential effort to strengthen the safety net and ensure all Americans have a fair shot."Andrew Romanoff (CO): "I support Medicare for All, including coverage for mental health and substance use treatment, prescription drugs, vision, dental, hearing, maternity, and long-term care. Such a system, as other countries have shown, saves money and saves lives."Rachel Ventura (IL)Kim Williams (CA)- "I strongly support Medicare for All because there is no time left for a middle ground approach."
• Ending private insurance to eliminate out-of-pocket costs• Providing single-payer health care to expand healthcare coverage• Eliminating co-pays, premiums and deductibles that increase individual costs• Expand mental health support and resources
Right from Kim's website:And-- as if all that energy that went into her website wasn't enough-- Kim sent me this last night: "Today my friends and I knocked on 100 doors in 100° heat. And we were not alone. En route, we came across a family near an expressway ramp. Each of them held a large cardboard sign with a woman’s face on it beside the words, 'Stage four cancer. Please help.' They, too, were not alone. Half a million people will file for bankruptcy this year because of medical debt. It was clearly too late for the woman on the picture and likely too late to save this family from a devastating debt. Leaving families like this in such a state of crisis while insurance execs line their pockets is unconscionable, and waiting on the healthcare industry to fix the healthcare industry is unrealistic. We need a brand new Congress that will finally recognize healthcare as a human right, stop putting profits over people, and pass Medicare for All."Brianna Wu (MA): "Massachusetts led the way with the framework for Obamacare, a step in the right direction-- but our work isn’t finished. It’s time to commit to Medicare for All, a solution that will guarantee health care for all Americans. Studies have shown that Medicare for All will save us $2 Trillion in costs from the current healthcare system, along with $500 Billion per year in administrative costs from private insurance alone. Every other industrialized country in the world has a public health care option. Seventy percent of Americans want Medicare for All. This is a no-brainer. It’s time to get it done." UPDATE: Jason Butler (NC) Is A Medicare-For-All Supporter Too"Ensuring affordable healthcare for every American is the moral imperative of our age. We cannot continue to be a nation where corporations make billions in profit while hundreds of thousands of individuals go bankrupt from medical debt every year. Politicians should represent the best interests of their constituents-- not the best interests of insurance companies. In my district here in North Carolina, far too many people are suffering because of lack of insurance and still thousands of others are being crushed under the alarming increase in healthcare costs. Healthcare gives life, ensures a bright future for our children, strengthens American families, supports our veterans, the empowers the economic flourishing of our communities. This is why I fully support Medicare for All and, if elected, will fight to ensure healthcare for every American." And now watch how New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the progressive running for the open Senate seat, explains Medicare for All in the video below to voters in her state:
