Universal Healthcare

A nation’s greatness is measured not by its wealth but by its care for the sick. Yet in America, illness too often leads to ruin. Families ration medicine, delay treatment, and fear a diagnosis not for the disease itself, but for the bill that follows. This is not freedom—it is failure.

The solution is clear: Medicare for All. No one should go bankrupt for getting cancer. No parent should choose between rent and a child’s prescription. A just society ensures that healthcare is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy.

This is not radical—it is necessary. Every other developed nation guarantees healthcare. Their people live longer, pay less, and fear no financial devastation from sickness. America can, and must, do the same.

Action must follow outrage. Demand universal coverage. Support leaders who will fight for it. Reject the lie that corporate profits matter more than human lives.

A nation that denies care denies dignity. Medicare for All is not just policy—it is justice. The time to act is now.

Key Stats

1. Exorbitant Spending: The United States allocates nearly 18% of its GDP to healthcare—more than double the average of other developed nations—yet its overall health outcomes, like life expectancy and infant mortality, significantly trail behind those with universal coverage.

2. Medical Bankruptcy Crisis: Studies show that nearly 66% of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are linked to overwhelming medical bills, leaving millions financially devastated by illnesses that should not be a death sentence to one’s finances.

3. Millions Uninsured: Despite efforts under the Affordable Care Act, over 30 million Americans remain uninsured, which forces many to delay or forgo essential treatments, exacerbating health disparities and long-term costs.

4. Prescription Drug Price Shock: On average, Americans pay 2 to 3 times more for prescription medications than citizens in other OECD countries, putting critical drugs out of reach for many and burdening families with excessive costs.

5. Disappointing Health Outcomes: Although the U.S. leads in healthcare spending, it ranks near the bottom among developed countries in key metrics such as life expectancy and infant mortality, illustrating that high expenditure does not equate to superior care.

Our Allies

1. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)
   A leading nonprofit of doctors, medical students, and health professionals who call for a single-payer system to ensure that healthcare is a human right rather than a commodity.

2. National Nurses United (NNU)
   Representing hundreds of thousands of nurses nationwide, NNU has been a powerful voice in demanding robust, universal healthcare policies that secure safe, quality care for all.

3. Medicare for All Action
   A grassroots organization dedicated solely to mobilizing support for a single-payer healthcare system through education, direct action, and political advocacy.

4. Medicare for All Now
   This coalition unites activists, community groups, and progressive leaders to push for Medicare for All as a core component of broader economic and social justice reform.

5. Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
   A broad coalition of advocacy groups that campaigns for comprehensive reforms—including a transition to universal, single-payer healthcare—to reduce costs and ensure equitable access.

10 Steps

1. Draft Federal Legislation for Universal Healthcare Implementation
   Develop comprehensive federal legislation that enshrines Medicare for All, drawing on models such as the Massachusetts healthcare reform. The proposal should outline eligibility for all U.S. residents, aim to reduce the uninsured rate to 0% within five years, and include detailed cost estimates—analyses by the Urban Institute project that a transition could save billions annually through reduced administrative costs.

2. Establish Sustainable Funding Mechanisms
   Design funding strategies that leverage progressive taxation and redirect a portion of current healthcare expenditures. For instance, with U.S. healthcare spending estimated at over $3.6 trillion annually, reallocating resources—combined with modest tax increases on the highest earners (projected at an increase of 1–2 percentage points on top income brackets)—could sustainably finance universal coverage. Studies from the OECD highlight that similar models in other nations achieve both fiscal sustainability and broad access.

3. Initiate a Phased Rollout with Expanded Medicare Eligibility
   Launch an immediate pilot by expanding Medicare eligibility to all adults in selected states, gradually scaling nationwide. Research indicates that administrative costs could drop by as much as 20% compared to the current multi-payer system. This phased approach allows for iterative improvements while demonstrating early success in reducing the uninsured population.

4. Consolidate Administrative Systems to Reduce Waste
   Analyze and streamline the administrative processes that currently account for 15–25% of national health expenditures. By centralizing billing and claims processing—similar to systems in Canada, where administrative costs are under 3%—significant cost savings can be redirected to patient care. Detailed audits from the Commonwealth Fund provide benchmarks for achievable efficiency improvements.

5. Negotiate Drug and Service Pricing
   Leverage the bargaining power of a unified national system to negotiate lower prices for pharmaceuticals and healthcare services. International reference pricing models, as used in countries like Germany, have resulted in drug cost reductions of 20–30%. Implementing similar strategies could lower costs dramatically while ensuring high-quality care.

6. Implement Workforce Retraining for Transitioning Workers
   Establish comprehensive retraining programs for workers displaced from the private insurance sector. Drawing on case studies from other large-scale system transitions, set aside targeted budgets—potentially a percentage of the overall savings—to support retraining initiatives and job placements, ensuring a smooth labor market adjustment.

7. Reform the Role of Private Insurers in Essential Care
   Gradually transition private insurers to supplemental roles that cover elective or non-essential services, while the core system remains publicly administered. Countries like the United Kingdom and Canada maintain robust public healthcare with optional private plans, demonstrating that essential care can be effectively managed by a public system, thereby eliminating profit-driven distortions in fundamental healthcare delivery.

8. Monitor Health Outcomes and Economic Impact Rigorously
   Establish independent oversight bodies to track key performance indicators such as patient satisfaction, treatment outcomes, and cost savings. Utilize data from the Commonwealth Fund—which compares U.S. outcomes with those of universal systems—to set benchmarks for improvement in life expectancy, infant mortality, and overall health status. Quarterly public reports will ensure transparency and drive continuous policy refinement.

9. Invest in Public Health and Medical Research
   Reinvest savings from administrative efficiencies and negotiated pricing into public health initiatives and patient-centered research. Studies have shown that every additional dollar spent on preventive care can reduce long-term healthcare costs substantially. Increasing funding for medical research and public health programs can spur innovation and improve population health metrics, as evidenced by European models.

10. Institutionalize Universal Healthcare for Long-Term Stability
    Embed Medicare for All into the nation’s policy framework by establishing permanent governance structures, ongoing training programs, and regular policy reviews. Create a National Commission on Health Equity that, much like similar bodies in other developed nations, will conduct biennial evaluations to ensure that the system evolves with technological advances and demographic shifts, securing long-term economic and health stability.