I’m writing to you today to share with you what’s next in the fight for Medicare for All.
Activists and organizers across the country have been working for months to help confirm their members of Congress as original cosponsors in the lead up to the highly anticipated re-introduction of the Medicare for All Act in Congress.
Last Wednesday, HR 1976 was introduced with a record 112 original cosponsors (now at 114!). That’s more than half of all the Democrats in the House — which is huge. But there’s a lot more work to be done.
So today, we’re excited to share with you our strategy memo including what lies ahead for the rest of the year and how you can get involved — no matter who you are or where you live in the country.
WHY WE NEED MEDICARE FOR ALL: |
27 million people were estimated to be kicked off their employer-sponsored health insurance last year when they needed to be able to see a doctor most.
29 million people already had no insurance and at least 41 million were underinsured.
Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people are three times as likely to contract Covid-19 and twice as likely to die.
Meanwhile, you’d think health insurance corporations would be spending more and making less during a global pandemic — but you’d be wrong.
UnitedHealth Group had its most profitable quarter of all time last year while the CEOs of health insurance giants Cigna and Centene made $79 million and $59 million last year, respectively.
Simply put: our current health care system is immoral, cruel, and broken. We need Medicare for All now more than ever.
OUR STRATEGY MOVING FORWARD: |
We know that we were able to reach 114 cosponsors because of the organizing that took place in hundreds of districts with volunteers all over the country calling, emailing, and meeting with their representatives to ask them to sign onto the bill.
It’s clear that this grassroots organizing is working. That means our job as a movement is to keep organizing locally, district by district, to pressure more members of Congress – particularly Democrats who still don’t support Medicare for All, and, most importantly the members who sit on key committees.
That’s why today, we’re excited to share with you our plans for that district level work and unveil the two lists of key members of Congress that will guide our work for the rest of the year.
To see the full list of targets, check out our post on Medium here — and if you live in one of these districts, sign up here to get plugged in.
And if you live elsewhere in the country, we still need you involved. We’ve always got new calls to action and ways to plug in for every person, no matter where you live. If you’re really ready to step up now, we’re looking for volunteers to host virtual text bank parties to help text voters in all the districts listed above. Sign up here to join a training call on how to host a text bank party.
To step up and get involved in any of these local campaigns, you don’t need to have any special skills or prior experience. All you need to do is bring is your commitment, and we’ll help you brainstorm how to take action, come up with a plan, and find other people in your district who will work with you.
We need as many people as possible to know the plan and be on the same page if we’re going to win. So please, share this post with friends, family, and other people you know to help us grow the movement.
Thank you for reading and we’re so excited to get to work.
In solidarity,
Medicare for All Campaign Team