I have some exciting news to share.

My name is Rose Roach, and I’m the Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, a proud affiliate of NNU. 

Up here where I live in Minnesota, we recently got word that we won our campaign calling on Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04) to support Medicare for All! She has officially agreed to sign on as a cosponsor of the Medicare for All bill in Congress, H.R. 1976. 

This is a huge victory that was won by hundreds of volunteers, nurses, and constituents from the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Health Care for All MN coalition, and many more organizations. 

While Rep. McCollum is a Democrat who co-sponsored H.R. 676 in 2013, she never co-sponsored Medicare for All again until now. Over the last several years, our team at the Minnesota Nurses Association, along with our allies, have been working hard to get Rep. McCollum back on the bill.

Together we: 

• Showed up at Rep. McCollum’s town hall meetings and shared stories about our personal experiences with our broken health care system, urging her to support the bill.
• Knocked on doors, canvassed in targeted neighborhoods collecting constituent healthcare stories and commitments to call Rep. McCollum and demand she co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act.
• Held meetings with her office where we shared information, personal stories, and asked for her support. 
• Successfully got the St. Paul City Council in her district to pass a resolution in support of Medicare for All. It won by unanimous vote. 
• During the pandemic, we attended virtual town hall meetings and held more meetings with her office focusing on the devastation of Covid-19 and how it exposed the deep inequities in our healthcare system especially in communities of color. 
• Most recently, nurses in her district from the Minnesota Nurses Association met with her during Nurses Week, where she finally told us that she would commit to cosponsor.

It took several years with lots of perseverance, new and changing tactics, and a profound determination that we needed to win.

Our campaign proves once again that consistent organizing at the local level works. We got our member of Congress to support Medicare for All, and if we can do it – you can too. 

Can you help us celebrate this victory by sharing the news on social media? Seeing praise for Rep. McCollum’s decision from across the country could convince other members of Congress who are on the fence to finally sign on.

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I’m deeply inspired by the entire team and community who made this possible. We are now one step closer to passing Medicare for All in Congress, and I believe that when we organize, we win. 

Thank you for being part of this national movement for healthcare justice. I’m proud to be in this fight with you. 

Rose Roach
Executive Director
Minnesota Nurses Association