Michael Lighty
Michael Lighty has organized, advocated and developed policy for Improved Medicare for All nationally and in California for 29 years. He is a founding Fellow of the Sanders Institute. Lighty is currently on sabbatical from the California Nurses Association/NNU where he was director of public policy. During his tenure there from 1994-2018, Lighty coordinated campaigns for an HMO patients’ bill of rights, clean money elections, Healthy California, and nationally, for a Robin Hood Tax. Lighty was the first openly LGBTQ person to lead a socialist organization as Democratic Socialists of America’s National Director in the early 90’s. In 2009 Oakland Mayor Ronald V. Dellums appointed Lighty to the Board of Port Commissioners. For NNU, Lighty coordinated the Peoples Summit in Chicago in 2016 & 2017, and the Bernie Bus campaign, an independent effort to elect Bernie Sanders for President. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Peoples Action; Progressive Democrats of America; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland, CA, where he lives with his husband. Follow him on Twitter: @mlighty60
Articles by this author
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Views Friday, December 07, 2018 $3.5 Trillion on Healthcare Each Year and We’re Still Uninsured, Underinsured, and Unhappy It’s time for a reality check when it comes to universal healthcare. Usually, that means those with an idealistic vision of equity and justice must give it up in favor a more achievable program. But in this case, the reality of what’s achievable exceeds the low expectations and compromises that... Read more |
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Views Thursday, March 15, 2018 A Labor-Based Movement For Medicare for All Healthcare is the crossroads where the assault on workers meets the juggernaut of “crony capitalism.” That’s the term used by the mainstream neo-classical and Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton to describe the coziness between the healthcare industry and its government “regulators.” In fact... Read more |
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Views Friday, February 02, 2018 Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss The announcement by the CEO’s from JP Morgan Chase, Amazon and Berkshire-Hathaway that they are forming a new healthcare company signals the symbolic end of the ACA-reform era. They recognize the inefficiencies and profiteering of the private insurance companies, who add no value to businesses... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, August 08, 2017 Liberals Strike Back... Against Single Payer With the explosive growth of the movement for single payer healthcare, it should not be a surprise to see the Empire Strike Back. In the name of political reality, some liberal pundits, politicians and policy wonks are scolding progressives to give up on Medicare for All . There are many ways to... Read more |