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 Monday, April 15, 2019 Nothing Less Than Improved Medicare for All Isn’t this a “radical transformation” of the US healthcare system? No. Medicare for All expands the role of public financing in healthcare- 60% of healthcare is already paid for by our taxes. It does so through an existing “single-payer” called the Medicare Trust Fund that already pays virtually... Read more |
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Views Monday, March 25, 2019 'Medicare for America' Will Not Get Us Where We Need to Be With so much written about the politics and some about the policy of Medicare for All, it seems we’re having a real debate about the key issues. But appearances deceive. Instead, it’s more of a struggle over the semantics of “Medicare” – #M4A - is it for America or is it for All? Proponents of “... Read more |
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Views Sunday, February 03, 2019 Concerning Medicare for All, It's Not a Time for "Can't" I have a request for the pundits , editorial boards, and especially politicians, seemingly sympathetic to Medicare for All, but who dwell on its supposed infeasibility and limitations : please take a time out. When it comes to seeking universal healthcare in the U.S. since the 1940's (decades... Read more |
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Views Thursday, January 03, 2019 Now That Everybody Is for Medicare for All, Opponents Say Let’s Dilute It A strange phenomena has appeared in the US debate over universal healthcare: a big majority favors a well-known reform—Medicare for All—as the pundits, insurance and pharma lobbyists, and political insiders denied it (since 1992!), then since 2016 opposed it and all of sudden want to re-define it... Read more |
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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 |