President Biden recently announced a “Special Enrollment Period” to give those who need health care coverage during the pandemic the opportunity to sign up through the Affordable Care Act. 

From February 15 to May 15, the healthcare.gov marketplace will reopen, and while their intent is in the right place, it’s just not enough. 

Here’s why: 

• “Access” to health care is not the same as guaranteed health care. If we believe that health care is a human right, we must enact Medicare for All, the only policy that guarantees health care to everyone free at the point of service.
• People need health care year round and shouldn’t have to jump through administrative hoops to get it.
• Many of these ACA plans have very high premiums and deductibles, which we know are a substantial barrier to care.
• Private insurance companies are driven by the profit-motive and often do whatever they can to prevent patients from actually getting the care they need, which costs them money. Their business model depends on us not receiving care.

Health care reforms like the ACA that uphold a system that treats health care as a commodity will never truly guarantee health care for all. Private companies should not be allowed to profit off our need for life saving health care. We know that the only way to truly make health care a human right is through Medicare for All.

With Democrats in control of the House, Senate, and Presidency – there are no excuses for not moving forward. In just over two weeks, Medicare for All will be reintroduced in Congress, and we have to be ready to mobilize around this opportunity to get as many co-sponsors as possible. We could get rid of enrollment periods for good by guaranteeing health care as a right.

To do that mobilizing, we created the Medicare for All Rapid Response Team for volunteers to amplify calls-to-action and news around the Medicare for All bills in their communities and online — and we need you on board.

Can you sign on right now to join our Medicare for All Rapid Response Team? The more people we have on this team, the more pressure we can put on individual members of Congress to step up.

JOIN THE TEAM »

As a volunteer on the team, you’ll receive training and support from NNU staff and will be added to a special Slack channel for updates. You’ll be a huge part of how we fight for Medicare for All across the country. 

Covid-19 can become a turning point for health care in the United States. We have to learn from the consequences and reform our unprepared system that still prioritizes profits over people.

This won’t be easy, but if we get as many supporters like you involved as possible, we can finally guarantee health care for all, free at the point of service. 

We’re excited to work with you. 

Jasmine Ruddy
Organizer
Nurses’ Campaign for Medicare for All