Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) said Tuesday that America’s “broken health care system should be replaced by ‘Medicare for all.”’
“This policy will save lives; I want to make that clear. I hope this hearing will be one more step forward in our commitment to ensuring everyone in this country, and particularly our Black, brown, and Indigenous communities, have the medical care they need to thrive” – Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-St. Louis)
“Medicare for All is transformational policy change,” Bush said during her opening statement at a House Judiciary and Oversight Committee hearing entitled “Examining Pathways to Universal Health Coverage.”
Bush is championing proposed bills by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) called the Medicare for All Act, “the boldest legislative [healthcare] proposal to date.”
“It would establish a national, single-payer universal health system that guarantees comprehensive health care coverage to every person in America,” Bush said.
Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said during the hearing “the pandemic has made it clear now more than ever that we must guarantee healthcare as a human right with no copays, no deductibles, and no premiums.”
“We need Medicare for All now, when nearly 100 million people are uninsured or underinsured in the richest nation on the planet,” she said.
“There’s no excuse for this broken system, where parents have to choose between taking their kid to the doctor or paying rent. The path ahead is tough, but Medicare for All is necessary, popular, and most importantly will save thousands of lives.”
On Monday, Bush released a statement saying “Systemic racism perpetuating health inequities cannot be overstated. Black women are three-to-four times more likely to die during childbirth.”
“We are more likely to have rates of asthma and cancer from generations living next to pollution centers. We are more likely to have foregone routine screenings and medical appointments for a real fear of having our pain dismissed.”
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D,} Committee on Oversight and Reform chair, said in her opening statement Medicare for All “offers a bold vision for an America where no patient is denied necessary medical care because it is too expensive, and no family has to decide between putting food on the table or paying their medical bills.”
“Medicare for All would contain skyrocketing costs across our health care system and provide a sustainable path to more equitable and accessible health care, especially for communities where access has historically been pushed out of reach.
“Congressional Democrats have enacted sweeping policies like the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan, which drastically expanded access to affordable health care coverage to millions of people in the United States. My colleagues and I continue to champion policies that will build upon this progress—including by guaranteeing access to public coverage to every person in the United States.”
Among hearing witnesses was Christopher Wilcox, MSW, a mutual aid and policy associate at A Red Circle in St. Louis.
He said he was testifying from the perspective of being a patient who dealt with the financial struggle of purchasing his own depression medication and from the view of a health care provider.
“I know what it is like,” he told the committee.
The hearing assessed how uninsurance and underinsurance negatively impacts health outcomes and examine how moving toward universal coverage could advance health equity in the United States.
Even after President Biden’s American Rescue plan expanded the Affordable Care Act’s financial assistance for patients and families more than 27 million people in the United States remain uninsured, according to Mahoney.
“And even for some who do have insurance, it’s not enough to insulate them from the significant cost of getting health care in this country,” she said.
Bush said, “Congress must implement a system that prioritizes people over profits, humanity over greed, and compassion over exploitation.”
“This policy will save lives; I want to make that clear. I hope this hearing will be one more step forward in our commitment to ensuring everyone in this country, and particularly our Black, brown, and Indigenous communities, have the medical care they need to thrive”
