By Margaret Flowers for Health Over Profit.
Rallies have been held across the United States in opposition to the Senate health legislation. It’s amazing that many people are not only opposing the Senate “deathcare” bill but are calling for National Improved Medicare for All.
Signs that the tide is turning toward single payer this week include:
In an interview with Judy Woodruff, Warren Buffett supported single payer, saying, “With my limited knowledge, I think that [single payer] probably is the best system, because it is a system — we are such a rich country. In a sense, we can afford to do it.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren was quoted in the Wall Street Journal: “President Obama tried to move us forward with health-care coverage by using a conservative model that came from one of the conservative think tanks that had been advanced by a Republican governor in Massachusetts. Now it’s time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.”
Presidential press secretary Sean Spicer was reported to say, yesterday: “During an off-camera, unrecorded briefing with the White House Press Corps on Monday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said something that has progressives pretty chuffed. While portraying it as a negative, Spicer said that the U.S. had to either adopt the GOP healthcare plan or have the healthcare system go the way of progressive dreams and become a single-payer, medicare-for-all system.”
We’ll take that deal! Don’t pass the Republican health bill and instead pass single payer.
Here are a few photos and reports from recent actions that we’ve received:
The North Kentucky Tribune reports that in Frankfort: “Supporters of a single-payer health care system rallied in Frankfort on Monday calling the GOP’s replacement bill for Obamacare a tax cut for the rich. About 75 people gathered at the Capitol Rotunda for a ‘Save Our Healthcare’ rally, sponsored by Together Frankfort and other groups dissatisfied with the health care plans offered by Republicans in Washington.” The rally ended with a march. More photos are posted on the Together Frankfort Facebook Page.
Hundreds gathered in Asheville, NC, including the Hale-Norris family, pictured below:
And in Baltimore, members of the Health Care is a Human Right – Maryland campaign held a vigil outside Senator Ben Cardin’s office to highlight the tens of thousands of people who die each year because they do not have health insurance and the tens of thousands more who will die if millions more lose health insurance under the GOP bill. The obvious solution to save lives is National Improved Medicare for All.
In Bangor, Maine, activists thanked Senator Susan Collins for opposing the Senate bill and one activist said, “As long as healthcare is a profitable venture instead of healthcare being just to meet people’s needs, we’re going to have problems so we’re saying let’s work for Medicare for all.”
In Salt Lake City, Utah, activists blockaded the street in opposition to the Senate bill. One participant said, “The most important thing would be a single-payer, ‘Medicare for all’ system. Join the rest of the developed world in providing public health care.”
