Single mother goes from traffic stop to bench warrant to jail over unpaid medical bill: ‘It just isn’t right’

By Jerry Davich for Chicago Tribune Melissa Welch-Latronica had no idea why she got pulled over by a Valparaiso police officer earlier this month. He informed her that she failed to affix her 2019 sticker to her license plate. She apologized and handed him her driver’s license. Then she waited, and waited. She noticed a […]
We Don’t Need Private Health Insurance

New single-payer plans don’t need to worry about carving out roles for health-care profiteers. By Adam Gaffney for The Nation Does achieving “Medicare for All” mean mostly eliminating private health insurance? Single-payer proponents say yes: After all, if a public plan provides comprehensive, no-deductible coverage for everyone, nobody would want—much less be willing pay for—duplicative […]
An “Exciting But Dangerous Moment” for Medicare for All

All human beings have a right to healthcare, but powerful forces remain dead set against it. An interview with PNHP president Dr. Adam Gaffney. By Michael Winship for Common Dreams Dr. Adam Gaffney is the brand new president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), the national, Medicare for All advocacy group of medical […]
Medicare for All: What it is, what it isn’t

By Jon Greenberg for PolitiFact Ever since Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders fired up the Democratic base two years ago with his plan to deliver Medicare for All, the idea has become a kind of yardstick for measuring a candidate’s support for a single-payer health care system. But Medicare for All presents challenges both practical and […]
Single-payer health care would be a vast improvement

By Jay D. Brock – OpEd for Washington Post Regarding Ronald A. Klain’s Feb. 7 Thursday Opinion commentary, “How Democrats could squander their advantage on health care”: There seems to be increasing unease about the state of U.S. health insurance. And with good reason: The current system, based on multiple payers, including large numbers of […]
Nearly half of adults with heart disease can’t afford their medical bills

Study by Yale University More than 45% of non-elderly adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) report financial hardship due to the associated medical bills, according to a Yale research team. Worse still, about one in five report being unable to pay those medical bills at all, said the researchers. This study appears in the Journal […]
Growing trend for bankruptcy for seniors

Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society By Deborah Thorne, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless & Katherine Porter for PNHP The social safety net for older Americans has been shrinking for the past couple decades. The risks associated with aging, reduced income, and increased healthcare costs, have been off-loaded onto older […]
To Be Crystal Clear: ‘Medicare for All’ Does Not Mean ‘Medicare for Some’

By Diane Archer for Common Dreams As the health care debate heats up, it’s time to be clear about what Medicare for All is and what it is not. Medicare for All does not mean giving people the option to “buy in” to Medicare under our current health insurance system—what might be called Medicare for […]
‘Everybody In, Nobody Out’: What We Know So Far About the Medicare for All Act of 2019

NOTE: HOPE disagrees with two points in this article. First, is the transition period. HR 676 gave a minimum of one year to do implementation planning before the system would begin on Jan. 1. When the system would begin, under HR 676, all people would be in it from day one. Jayapal’s bill has a […]
Profit-Driven Health Care Is Killing The Dreams Of Young People. Young People Are Fighting Back.

By National Nurses United Briana Moss, 30, grew up in Dyersville, Iowa, site of the “field of dreams” (from the 1989 movie). Despite the reputation of her hometown, her own life dreams feel on hold. At age 30, when many young people are getting their careers off the ground, Moss’ life choices are guided by […]