Rep. Pramila Jayapal Discusses Medicare for All

New Video: Medicare for All discussion with progressive champion Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Our health care system is broken. Tens of millions of people in our country remain uninsured or underinsured, and millions more can’t afford coverage. Many people are one illness away from bankruptcy. Health outcomes in the United States continue to be among the lowest of all developed nations, yet we spend the most on health care – all the while insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies rake in billions each year.

Progressives in Congress have a popular, common sense solution to fix our broken system: Medicare for All. I was honored to host a great panel with one our biggest champions for Medicare for All in the House of Representatives, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, along with Alex Lawson of Social Security Works, where we discussed why profit has no place in our health care system and why Medicare for All is the best plan to ensure all people have health care.

Rep. Jayapal recently introduced an incredibly detailed, 125+ page Medicare for All bill to ensure all people receive health care under the Medicare program. Under her Medicare for All plan, if you’re sick, you get to see a doctor. There are no co-pays, premiums or deductibles. You get to keep your doctor, and there are no issues with certain providers being “out of network.” Additionally, her plan covers long-term care for the first time in any universal health care legislation.

Right now, predatory insurance companies and Big Pharma stand between people and their doctors and use monopoly power to rob us blind. Medicare for All would replace the for-profit leeches that drive up costs without making us any healthier. Medicare for All would result in more health care coverage and better outcomes while reducing overall U.S. medical costs. Medicare for All would also improve the program for today’s seniors by including younger people and adding dental and hearing coverage into Medicare.

During the discussion, Rep. Jayapal explains that the crowdfunding site GoFundMe is, unfortunately, one of the fastest-growing health “insurance” programs available. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have set up fundraising pages on the site to solicit donations just to afford insulin. Here’s the exchange:

Support for Medicare for All is rapidly growing, yet it still faces opposition by Republicans in Congress and a well-funded health industry lobby. But we know Medicare for All is a winning issue. The 2018 midterms revealed that voters in red states demanded the expansions of Medicaid that Republicans once blocked. Republican members of Congress were punished for trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And a new wave of Democrats was swept into office while openly declaring their support for Medicare for All.

CREDO is building grassroots support for Medicare for All, and we need your help. Please join us and sign our petition today demanding that Congress break the stranglehold of insurance companies and Big Pharma by passing bold Medicare for All legislation. Click here to add your name today.