Values of many Americans include security, justice, and freedom.  A recent HealthCare for All Colorado Foundation (HCACF) presentation by Tom Gottlieb suggests that health care reform, such as a public national health insurance, must assure that these values are honored.  The success of Medicare in America as a social insurance has fulfilled these values.

Robert Reich addresses the 5 main lies being told about Medicare-for-All. He then explains how Medicare-for-All will actually save lives and save money. This short video is part of a series on YouTube called NowThis Opinion.

Jane O’Meara Sanders was recently interviewed on Nurse Talk by Donna Smith, Nurse Talk’s Healthcare in America Senior Correspondent and HCACF Board member.  Jane Sanders is a long-time political activist and social justice supporter.  This interview was conducted in recognition of National Nurses Week and it examines many of the healthcare issues that affect Americans every day.  

Employers have provided private health insurance as remuneration (fringe benefit) for workers since WWII.  Beyond 1980, this benefit has become more destructive than beneficial.  (See the New York times article written by Matt Bruenig on April 29, 2019).

Two new Medicare-for-All Acts have been proposed in Congress:  H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019 is sponsored by Representative Pramila Jayapal and S.1129 - Medicare for All Act of 2019 is sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders. Both bills have co-sponsors from colleagues in both the House and the Senate.

In addition to the articles posted on our main page, please take a moment to read other pertintent pieces which are listed under our Health Care Forum and Health Care Reform Articles pages.

Dr. Sanjeev K. Sriram takes the position that healthcare is a basic right and that Medicare-for-All is a way to ensure that all Americans will be covered, even though the AMA is siding with the insurance industry.  Profit before patients is not what most doctors or patients support. Common Dreams, April 12, 2019 

Understanding current Medicare structure and law leads to a logical extension of Medicare that includes all Americans. HealthCare for All Colorado Foundation provides a summary that defines implementation of a financial plan for an Extended Medicare (aka Medicare-for-All). 

Libby Watson from Splinter News, reported on a recent Gallup Poll which showed that millions of Americans have to borrow money in order to pay their healthcare bills.  April 2, 2019.   This article supports HCACF's position on the importance of implementing a Public National Health Insurance to finance universal public and private health care delivery.

Private health insurers seek to defund and privatize traditional Medicare by supplanting it with the much less efficient, more costly, Medicare Advantage Plans that are paid tens of billions of dollars in extra subsidies annually. This piece by American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), representative of private insurers, thanks 368 Congress members for their “strong bipartisan” advocacy for enrollment of those over 65 in Medicare Advantage Plans. Even Congress members who ostensibly support “Medicare-for-All,” have endorsed AHIP’s letter effectively promoting privatization of Medicare. Most of Colorado’s delegation, Democrats & Republicans, have signed. Check to see if your representatives signed - let them know that privatizing Medicare by replacing it with Medicare Advantage is the wrong way to go.

February 7, 2019