Use this petition to promote Medicare For All in as many creative ways as you can this campaign season. 

For those of you who admin progressive groups on FB, share the petition there about once a month.  In the first comment under the post, copy and paste the following:  @everyone, if you are a member of this group who cares about friends, neighbors, and even folks you don’t know, please sign and share this petition with folks who will further this effort!

Please push your MOC in town halls, online, and at every opportunity.

 

GOING FORWARD, it may be necessary to be more strategic, AND MUCH MORE SPECIFIC, in promoting HEALTHCARE that all Americans truly WANT and DESERVE.

 

For years there has been discussion in the single-payer, expanded and improved medicare for all community about how to best sell the message. There is generally a yearly conference or two about strategy in this regard.

 

So, what are we missing?

Let me tick off a few things:

 

WE NEED TO BE VERY MUCH MORE SPECIFIC AND DESCRIPTIVE! For instance, our signage at events should get directly to the point of how many Americans should be left without healthcare: 

 

ZERO! ALL AMERICANS REQUIRE HEALTHCARE! IT IS A BASIC HUMAN NEED. Signage that would convey this message would include: LET'S GET TO ZERO or 100% HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL or HEALTHCARE IS A BASIC HUMAN NEED. 

 

Also we need to make the point very clear, and we have seen signs that say HEALTH INSURANCE DOES NOT EQUAL HEALTHCARE!

 

OK, so that would talk about who and how many Americans deserve healthcare. 

 

HOW DO WE CONVEY WHAT WE MEAN BY HEALTHCARE? 

 

When I say healthcare, this is what I mean, and I think most of it should fit on a sign: HEALTHCARE = DOCTOR, HOSPITAL, EMERGENCY, DENTAL, VISION, MENTAL HEALTH, AND LONG-TERM 

 

The solution that would work for virtually ALL AMERICANS:  we are looking at SINGLE-PAYER financing.  Many Americans are hurting and live pay-check-to-paycheck, making difficult decisions every month about where their money should go. 

 

In order to cover ALL Americans, it would seem, to me, a good solution would be to government fund EVERYONE's healthcare.

 

If I were Queen of the World, this is what I would mandate: 

NATIONAL IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL

This would include all of the following entities that are now separately accounted for in our system: Medicaid, Medicare (all parts), Veterans Health, health thru the Department of Defense, Indian Health Services, healthcare thru community health agencies, free clinics, employer healthcare recipients, private insurance healthcare recipients, and the currently uninsured. In other words, EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN via any conceivable payment and category we currently have. Some of the agencies might retain the ability to hire their own staff (DOD, VA, etc), but for the most part, physicians and staff would be privately-owned, NOT-FOR-PROFITS.

 

This would not be a panacea, nor a fix for everything that ails our system, but it would be a hell of a good start!

 

What keeps us from getting to this is our own limitations in being able to imagine it, and to talk about it in specific terms that engage those in Congress who are being paid by insurance and pharma interests to continue the status quo!

 

We must find ways to talk about this plan in ways that open doors, rather than close them. Some of the elderly and monied members of Congress grew up in times where the terms socialized medicine and socialist were used in very sinister campaigns to question our patriotism and commitment to America and its ideals. We have to find ways to counter-act these scripts.

 

DUH - DEMAND UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE REMAINS COMMITTED TO OBTAINING HEALTHCARE FOR ALL AMERICANS, AND WE PARTICULARLY LIKE EXPANDED AND IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL. 

 

This essay does NOT change that at all. It is simply a realistic look at what lies ahead. Let's not squander our chances at getting there by being limited in our views or our words.

 

DONNA MARIE MILLER ELLINGTON, 

Director, Demand Universal Healthcare

 

In a poll we conducted several years ago, the respondents indicated that healthcare for all should include: 

+25

Covers long-term care of elderly or disabled

+24

No yearly maximums

+24

No lifetime maximums

+23

Covers all Americans from birth to death

+20

Does NOT cost at the point of NEED or SERVICE

+18

Is financed by a fair, progressive tax system

+17

Covers hospitalization, physicians visits, dental care, mental healthcare, vision care and hearing care.

+16

Enables EVERYONE to choose their own providers and DOES NOT include narrow networks

+13

No copays

+13

No deductibles

Some folks had difficulty getting the poll to work, and commented all of the above. An additional option that I could not get added to the poll, so I added into the comments was that all existing conditions should be covered.