453 rural hospitals are failing — Medicare for All would save them
By Diane Archer for The Hill Our for-profit health care system isn’t working for rural Americans. More than 120 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. According to a new report from Chartis Center for Rural Health, another 453—almost one in four—are at risk of failing. Corporate health insurers can’t provide coverage to meet rural patients’ […]
Medicare For All Would Result In Net Increase Of New Jobs, Report Says
By Eric Galatas for Longmont Observer DENVER — New research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that switching to a single-payer health system would boost the overall economy, make it easier for workers to switch jobs or start businesses, and create a net surplus of new jobs. Josh Bivens, the institute’s research director, said wages likely would […]
Single-Payer System Would Be More Effective in Managing Pandemics
Interview via Between the Lines Since first being identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the coronavirus, COVID-19 has spread quickly around the world, hitting the nations of South Korea, Italy and Iran the hardest. As of March 10, more than 113,000 people have reportedly contracted the virus and 4,000 have died worldwide. In the […]
Surprise medical bills, coronavirus and bad insurance: 3 arguments for Medicare for All
By Philip A. Verhoef for USA Today Congress is grappling with the problem of surprise medical bills, but will its Band-Aid approaches make a difference? As a physician, I’m trained to look beyond superficial symptoms to diagnose the underlying ailment. When patients pay thousands of dollars each year for “good” private insurance, how does a health care […]
We need strong public health care to contain the global corona pandemic
By Wim De Ceukelaire and Chiara Bodini for Viva Salud The corona virus (COVID-19) outbreak has spread from China to over a hundred countries in less than two months. As of March 10th, confirmed cases were above 100.000 and deaths over 4.000. Now is the time to take stock and to assess the responses of […]
20 Top Economists Endorse Medicare for All as Best Plan to Cut Costs, Save Tens of Thousands of Lives Each Year
“By eliminating insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, and lowering overall healthcare costs, Medicare for All will result in enormous savings for almost all households, all except the richest households who will pay more in taxes.” By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams Rejecting “loose talk” from corporate Democrats, the media, and insurance industry that a single-payer […]
More than a third of U.S. healthcare costs go to bureaucracy
HOPE NOTE: We have similar information in our Tools for Education section. Check it out and spread the word among friends, family and community! By Linda Carroll for Reuters (Reuters Health) – U.S. insurers and providers spent more than $800 billion in 2017 on administration, or nearly $2,500 per person – more than four times […]
Looming Coronavirus Threat in US Bolsters Case for Medicare for All and Universal Paid Sick Leave
“Doubters may claim that our nation can’t afford Medicare for All, but it’s increasingly likely that we are about to discover just how costly our current system really is.” By Julia Conley for Common Dreams The global coronavirus outbreak which also threatens the United States—and the widely criticized effort by the Trump administration to address […]
The New U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Fails to Capture Many Deaths
Since 2007, the government had held off on releasing an official estimate of expectant and new mothers who died from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. It waited for the data to get better. But the new, long-anticipated number falls short. By Nina Martin for ProPublica Late last month, maternal health experts from around Illinois […]
Millions of Americans Donate through Crowdfunding Sites to Help Others Pay for Medical Bills
Approximately 50 million—or 20 percent—of American adults reported donating to a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for a medical bill or treatment. Via NORC at the University of Chicago One in five Americans reported that they or someone in their household have contributed to a crowdfunding campaign to pay for medical bills or treatments, […]