Today, we’re launching a multi-part series which will discuss, over the next few weeks, how the U.S. response to Covid-19 could have looked different under a Medicare for All system. We’re calling it “What could have been: Covid-19.” We hope this series will be informative to you and will help you inform your friends and family.
Our first email in this series (below) is about the fragmentation of our health care system compared to other countries.
It’s not a mystery why other countries have been able to respond more effectively and quickly to Covid-19.
For countries like Taiwan and South Korea, it was their single-payer, unified health systems that allowed them to respond quickly, effectively, and in a coordinated way to rein in Covid-19.
These countries were able to maximize resource allocation and usage – coordinating a national testing plan and the dissemination of resources. Our fragmented health care system, on the other hand, was unable to respond quickly, cohesively, or in a coordinated fashion. With no communication between payers, and no single source of public health data, we’re left with a system that can’t respond effectively. Single-payer health care enables the crucial integration and cooperation between public health and people’s health care.
Medicare for All would eliminate the fragmentation in our health care system and ensure that we have the capability to react swiftly and aggressively, in a coordinated way, to combat public health emergencies.
One national plan can centralize public health data, coordinate a national testing plan, direct resources appropriately, and respond more quickly and effectively to public health crises like Covid-19 than a series of fragmented and disjointed responses – while also avoiding the bidding wars over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) we have seen in the U.S.
We’re not the only ones who understand this. In the midst of Covid-19, national support for Medicare for All is at a nine-month high.1 This pandemic calls for nothing less than a massive movement building effort to bring thousands of new supporters into the fight for Medicare for All – that’s exactly what we are doing, and we need you to join us.
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Here is the sample email we’ve written for you to copy or adapt: Hey friends, As you may know, I’m a supporter of Medicare for All, and I wanted to invite you to join an upcoming webinar this month to learn more about the basics of it and get your questions answered. Health care is very confusing as it is, and I know a lot of people have heard of Medicare for All or single-payer, but may not know what it is or how it works. This Medicare for All 101 webinar is geared toward beginners to learn more about our current system and answer their questions about reform. There are 4 different dates and times to choose from this month, and you can RSVP here: https://act.medicare4all.org/signup/mfa-101-webinars/ I hope you can make it and look forward to hearing about what you learn. |
You’re welcome to attend, but because you’re reading this email, we know you’ve already done your homework and are informed about Medicare for All (what it is, why it works, how other countries have done it, etc.).
During the webinar, your friends will learn about the basics of Medicare for All and the national campaign to win it. We’ll discuss what Medicare for All is, our current profit-driven health care system, and how we change it. There will also be time for Q&A at the end.
In order to win, we need to grow our movement and bring more like-minded people into action. You are a key part of that, and inviting your friends and family to join a webinar is a key first step.
We’re really grateful for your support and for your help.
Let’s get to work,
Jasmine Ruddy
Organizer
Nurses’ Campaign for Medicare for All
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