The national week of actions to build support in Congress for National Improved Medicare for All starts TODAY!
This is an exciting time because support for HR 676: “The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act” is growing. Five new co-sponsors signed on last week. And, thanks to pressure from grassroots activists, Senator Sanders announced that he will introduce a companion bill to HR 676 in the Senate. We expect it in mid-May.
Let’s keep this going!
Please take a few minutes to call your members of Congress to urge them to support Medicare for All using this simple tool:
(You will need to provide your address so that it can identify your members of Congress. We will not keep a record of it.)
Support for Medicare for All is coming from unexpected places. CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote a strong argument for Medicare for All, which was published in the Washington Post. Newsmax, a very conservative website owned by Christopher Ruddy, who is a Trump adviser, re-published Zakaria’s article. Even Charles Krauthammer admitted that “a broad national consensus is developing that health care is indeed a right” and posited that President Trump could “join the single payer side.”
We know that in the face of this growing consensus, the health profiteers are going to lobby heavily against Medicare for All. They spent over $1 million a day in 2009 on lobbying to make sure that their interests were represented in the Affordable Care Act.
To counteract their influence, we need to become citizen lobbyists!
On March 29, several dozen Health Over Profit for Everyone (HOPE) members delivered materials to every office in Congress and collected the contact information for their health staff.
We are making that contact information available to you here and we are looking for one person in each district who is willing to develop a relationship with their member’s health policy staffer and educate them about Medicare for All. We’ll provide information for you to send to them.
Contact info@healthoverprofit.org if you are interested in becoming a citizen lobbyist.
Members of Congress will be in their home districts starting April 8. That is a perfect time to schedule a visit with them or their staff. If you’ve never done that before, we offer advice on the Tools for Action page.
After your visit, you can use this form to report back on how it went and any concerns that your member of Congress has. You can read reports from others’ visits here. This information will help other constituents know how best to communicate with their representative.
Another important task is to raise awareness about Medicare for All and educate the public. From April 3 to 7, actions such as teach-ins, marches and speak outs are taking place across the country. Friday, April 7, is the international day of action against the privatization of health: “Our Health is NOT for Sale!”.Click here for action ideas and a list of upcoming actions.
The simplest action that every one of us can take today is to call your member of Congress.
And finally, remember that the next HOPE National Call will be Monday, April 10 at 9 pm Eastern/6 pm Pacific.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CALL.
Spread the word! Like HOPE on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
The political winds are shifting as more people recognize that now is the time to fight for National Improved Medicare for All like our lives depend on it because they do.