Has Your Local Lawmaker Pledged to Support Medicare for All? Have You?

As support for single payer continues to surge following the GOP’s failed attempt to strip healthcare from millions, Justice Democrats, Brand New Congress, and other groups launched a week of action on Monday imploring the public and lawmakers to pledge their support for Medicare for All.

“Because of your pressure, 43 members of Congress decided to co-sponsor Rep. John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) house bill for Medicare for All.”

So far, over 100,000 people have taken the pledge. The push to get lawmakers to follow the lead of the public on this issue, however, is far from over, the groups observe.

“Because of your pressure, 43 members of Congress decided to co-sponsor Rep. John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) house bill for Medicare for All,” the coalition’s website declares. “But as the healthcare debate rages, many of these same co-sponsors have publicly been advocating for half-measures like increasing subsidies for insurance companies or simply playing defense against Medicaid cuts.”

The website goes on to list several facts detailing both America’s healthcare woes and the benefits of single payer, followed by an informational video:

• The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other industrialized nation.
• Despite this fact, the American healthcare system consistently ranks last when compared to healthcare systems of other wealthy countries.
• Medicare for All would save the average family around $5,000 per year, the groups argue.
• Most Americans favor a Medicare for All-type system over the current for-profit status quo.

In an effort aimed at ensuring that current and prospective lawmakers remain committed to their public pronouncements, progressive groups are pushing lawmakers to “go on video pledging to stand up for Medicare for All in any public appearances and statements addressing our country’s healthcare crisis.”

Many lawmakers and congressional candidates have taken up the challenge.