"Universal coverage is no longer charity or a luxury, it’s now medically necessary as protection for us all." Dr. Li Tso, as quoted in The Hill on 7/14/20. Dr. Tso is primary care physician at Mass General Hospital, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School

Twenty nine million Americans have now lost health insurance attached to jobs. The time is NOW for Medicare for All! With M4A we win the election - people are demanding health care during the Covid-19 pandemic!

Astronomical health care costs and lack of access continue to drive individuals, families, and businesses past their breaking point while insurance companies continue to soak-up billions of health care dollars as millions of children’s basic needs go unmet. Medicare has provided guaranteed health care for millions of seniors for more than 51 years. It’s time we have a Medicare for all, single-payer health care system that would end health disparities, effectively control costs, and assure that everyone has equal access to an excellent standard of care.

A third of Americans report that they or a family member avoided going to the doctor when sick or injured in the past year due to cost, meaning that many Americans put off care rather than risk medical debt and even bankruptcy just to get the care they need.

Before summer’s end, an estimated 56 million people will have lost their health insurance, many due to the #COVID19 pandemic. The pandemic has laid bare the failures of our for-profit health care system and has forced so many of us into uncertainty, especially for those who have lost jobs and the health care attached to those jobs. 

Our broken health care system means that Americans are sicker than peer countries, which means that we are more susceptible to the coronavirus and may have less access to care for chronic conditions or other health issues that could be exacerbated by coronavirus.

With 87 million Americans uninsured or underinsured and high financial burdens to care even for Americans with insurance, too many Americans who become infected with the coronavirus may not be able to seek the care they need or will face financial hardship when they seek care. 

Americans already are significantly more likely to die of chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer than people in comparably wealthy countries with universal health care systems. The strain placed on the health care system by COVID-19 is likely to exacerbate those challenges.

A Medicare for All system would provide necessary treatments, including vaccines, to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. There would be no out-of-pocket costs or surprise bills that would get in the way of Americans receiving the care they need. In addition, under Medicare for All, Americans would have the freedom to choose a doctor or hospital to receive care wherever is most convenient during a crisis, instead of facing the additional burden of finding providers within narrow private insurance networks.

Medicare for All would ensure that the many hospitals, particularly rural hospitals, currently at risk of closure would have the funds they need to serve their communities. This would happen because the government would negotiate annual budgets with them.

Finally, Medicare for All would be better able to disburse funds in emergency situations and to purchase necessary machinery, such as ventilators or respirators, during a crisis and get them where they need to go in a timely manner. Unlike our current health care system, Medicare for All would include specific funding for dealing with pandemics or other health emergencies that could be distributed quickly without requiring additional legislation. The United States cannot be left unprepared for mass health risks like COVID-19. It is time to put in place Medicare for All and better protect the health of the American public.

According to a Hill-HarrisX poll released in April 2020, "sixty-nine percent of registered voters in the April 19-20 survey support providing Medicare to every American." Given the strong support of Medicare for All from independent voters, supporting Medicare for All as a pillar of the Democratic platform is a strategic way to lure independent voters to support the Democratic nominee on the November ballot. 

It's time to unify in support of a national Medicare health care plan to ensure Americans have the health care we need when we need it during this worldwide pandemic and to draw additional voters to support the Democratic ticket in November.