U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced his single-payer healthcare bill, the Medicare for All Act of 2017, on Wednesday, September 13. Joined by nurse union leaders, doctors, parents, and many of the 16 Senate co-sponsors of the bill, Sanders proclaimed his intention to “guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare for All, single-payer health care program.”
"Sanders' Medicare for All bill is exactly what UE members have demanded for decades: a universal, single-payer healthcare system which guarantees coverage for all people," said UE Director of Organization Gene Elk. "We are ready to mobilize our members and communities to take on the health insurance industry, Wall Street, and the politicians who represent them, and to win healthcare as a right."
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The Medicare for All Act of 2017 would establish a national health insurance program called the Universal Medicare Program. Under this legislation, every resident of the United States would receive health insurance through an expanded Medicare program with improved and comprehensive benefits. These benefits include hospital services, primary and preventive services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, comprehensive reproductive health services, and dental health, audiology, and vision services.
At the 75th UE National Convention, held in August, delegates reaffirmed UE's long-standing commitment to universal, single-payer healthcare. They also reaffirmed UE’s support for the rights of all those seeking reproductive healthcare and for the right of all workers, regardless of immigration status, to healthcare.
For more information:
- Senator Sanders' Press Release
- Overview of the bill from the nonpartisan, noncorporate People's Policy Project
Also see UE Policy: