Healthcare as a Human Right

Medicare for All

As millions of people are thrown off their health insurance due to the massive loss of employment across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the case for Medicare-for-All better than any politician ever could. Meanwhile, Trump and the GOP's efforts to repeal and "replace" the Affordable Care Act rests in the hands of the court s. We must use this unprecedented moment to rally together to, once and for all, institute a single payer system; a move that enjoys major support across the political base of the country. We are the only major country in the world to not provide healthcare as a right, yet spend around $9,000 per capita- the most expensive in the world! That’s an average of 2.5 times more than other major industrialized nations who provide universal healthcare for ALL of its citizens. On top of high administrative costs, costly deductibles, and payments for procedures, most uninsured people are low-income and disproportionally people of color.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made history by expanding health insurance to 30 million Americans by requiring people to buy private health insurance policies and expanding Medicaid. However, it left private insurance companies in charge of our healthcare system. Their ability to consolidate power in order to command market prices continues to drive up costs. So, while people may have more "access" to healthcare, the legal requirement to buy into private health insurance left many with high premiums, and a heavy burden of debt.

Basic human rights, like our healthcare, should not be privatized into a 100 billion dollar industry, PERIOD.

The Profit Motive

Once we are able to eliminate private insurers from the equation, their ability to drive up prices for premiums, deductibles, and admin costs will, in effect, also be eliminated. That's more money in your pocket. The only ones who lose are private insurance executives and shareholders. On top of that, the for-profit private health insurance companies have proven ineffective when it comes to negotiating with for prescription drugs and other forms of medicine. A Medicare for All "Single Payer" System will provide universal health insurance which will eliminate out-of-pocket expenses, the aforementioned costs of the private health insurance bureaucracy, and be able to negotiate for affordable prescription drugs.

What Is Single Payer Healthcare?

The United States is the only country in the developed world that does not guarantee access to basic health care for residents. Countries that guarantee health care as a human right do so through a “single-payer” system, which replaces the thousands of for-profit health insurance companies with a public, universal plan.

If you think this is politically unfeasible to win in the United States, take a look at the across-the-board support for the program. Afraid it can't work? It already exists for seniors! Medicare is a public, universal plan that provides basic health coverage to those age 65 and older. Medicare costs less than private health insurance, provides better financial security, and is preferred by most patients. Single-payer is often described as “Expanded & Improved Medicare for All.”

A single-payer system would save at least $2 trillion in net savings over the course of ten years, which is now wasted on administrative overhead and monopoly profits.

And, finally, the $2 trillion-dollar question: How do we pay for it? For starters, we can increase personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, an additional 2% tax on those who make more than $250,000 (less than 3% of the population) in taxable income, and a 6% premium on large, billion-dollar corporations. The rest of the necessary funding will be through the authorization of funds via the Federal Reserve. Aside from the savings we would accrue over time as a whole (as previously stated), small-to-medium sized employers, as well as labor unions, will be relieved from the burden of negotiating healthcare services for employees, as they will already be covered.

As a first step in congress, we will support and co-sponsor H.R. 1384 - "Medicare For All Act" which will provide comprehensive healthcare coverage including at least the following:

Primary care and prevention
Approved dietary and nutritional therapies
Inpatient care
Outpatient care
Emergency care
Prescription drugs
Durable medical equipment
Long-term care
Palliative care
Mental health services
The full scope of dental services, services, including periodontics, oral surgery, and dental (not including cosmetic dentistry)
Substance abuse treatment services
Chiropractic services, not including electrical stimulation
Basic vision care and vision correction (other than laser vision correction for cosmetic purposes)
Hearing services, including coverage of hearing aids
Podiatry care

Control Prescription Drug Pricing

We need to control the monopolizing of profits by the big pharmaceutical companies by regulating the prices they charge for prescription drugs. On top of creating an government apparatus that can negotiate for better prices, we need to pass a bill that will allow us to purchase prescription drugs from other countries that are providing the same drugs by the same reputable companies from countries like Canada. In 2017, 13 Democratic Senators voted NO on an amendment that would lower prescription drugs by importing them from Canada.

We need to pass legislation like the Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 that would allow the importation by individuals of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. We need to establish restrictions on certain anti-competitive patent settlements known as "pay-for-delay" agreements which effectively block generic drug competition, and we must allow the Federal Trade Commission to initiate proceedings to enforce these restrictions. Lastly, we will fight to require drug manufacturers to provide rebates for drugs dispensed to low-income individuals.