SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Nurses and doctors rallying for Medicare for All in Chicago over the weekend outside the annual gathering of the American Medical Association which currently opposes the plan to make healthcare coverage in the United States available to all. (Photo: National Nurses United/flickr/cc)
Medicare for All, Union Benefits, and the Promise of #NotMeUs
The nation's healthcare crisis is staring us in the face. And so is the solution.
Feb 23, 2020
Medicare for All won a resounding victory as Sen. Bernie Sanders dominated the Nevada caucus on Saturday.
There had been significant misrepresentation leading to confusion about this proposal. Perhaps no piece was more confusing than the flyer distributed by the Nevada Culinary Union stating that the election of Sanders would end the members' healthcare. That said, rank-and-file union members supported the Sanders' message of #NotMeUs in supporting improved Medicare for All thereby bucking union leadership and guaranteeing healthcare for all.
Union members fight long and hard over their negotiated benefits. Sanders understands full well the battles that unions must fight and has a long history of standing with unions. In fact the Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan has included a provision that directly protects union members requiring that all monies left over between what the employer was paying for healthcare and their contribution to Medicare for All be on the bargaining table and that the allocation of those monies be determined via the bargaining process. So that would mean increased wages, pensions, and other benefits to union members.
Furthermore, life happens. Loss of job, career change, firing, health conditions that cause a reduction in work hours often cause a loss of--or reduction of--healthcare benefits. These events are protected under Medicare for All.
There are approximately 90 million people in this country who have either no insurance or who are underinsured. The state of Nevada ranks sixth highest in the nation for uninsured with approximately 14% of Nevadans without healthcare. This is a critical problem that impacts everyone. Ultimately, the cost of providing care to the under and noninsured, which can bankrupt individuals, is passed on to all of us. To remedy this issue there is really only one option that guarantees universal coverage to everyone and that is improved Medicare for All. A Yale study published by The Lancet medical journal last week found that a Medicare for All plan would save the United States $450 billion yearly while saving an estimated 68,000 lives. This program is promoted by Sanders who has championed universal single payer healthcare for decades and ultimately was endorsed by the votes of union members in the great state of Nevada.
As a family physician, I am faced with a daily dilemma of trying to care for individuals who have no insurance or who are underinsured and are unable to purchase prescriptions, let alone pay deductibles or significant copayments required to get the care they need. The further reality is that all of us may find ourselves one illness or injury or job loss away from bankruptcy. Four out of five Americans who suffer bankruptcy due to medical bills and illness had health insurance when they became ill.
Alternative proposals to Medicare for All include providing a public option which ultimately is simply an extension of our current dysfunctional piecemeal, for profit, non-uniform tiered system. Keeping the for profit health insurance industry is misrepresented as allowing individuals greater "choice" to determine their own healthcare needs. The health insurance industry takes away our choice by limiting physician networks, limiting medication formularies and changing these often. Unfortunately, no one can know what their future health needs will be. When will tragedy or illness hit? Individuals will invariably purchase the lowest cost program assuming they have coverage only to find huge deductibles, copayments or inadequate drug and pharmacy coverage.
Only through universal coverage of every person in this country through a comprehensive improved Medicare for All program will people obtain the preventive and follow up medical care services that is their right and should be afforded to everyone in our country.
Senator Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan protects the health and economic interests of each of us, our families and communities. Nevadans and a majority of Americans participating thus far in this year's Democratic primaries understand this while the Democratic Party remains dumbfounded as to why the people are supporting one of its platform's principle tenets--providing healthcare to all Americans. This is reminiscent of the oft quoted proverb: "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." It's time to make our nation's health a priority recognizing that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Join me and physicians across this country in endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders for President.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Robert Dodge
Robert Dodge, MD, is a family physician practicing in Ventura, California. He serves on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles (www.psr-la.org), and serves as the cochair of the Committee to Abolish Nuclear Weapons of National Physicians for Social Responsibility (www.psr.org). Physicians for Social Responsibility is the US Affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War who received the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and is a partner organization of ICAN, recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. He also serves on the Back from the Brink (www.preventnuclearwar.org) steering committee.
Medicare for All won a resounding victory as Sen. Bernie Sanders dominated the Nevada caucus on Saturday.
There had been significant misrepresentation leading to confusion about this proposal. Perhaps no piece was more confusing than the flyer distributed by the Nevada Culinary Union stating that the election of Sanders would end the members' healthcare. That said, rank-and-file union members supported the Sanders' message of #NotMeUs in supporting improved Medicare for All thereby bucking union leadership and guaranteeing healthcare for all.
Union members fight long and hard over their negotiated benefits. Sanders understands full well the battles that unions must fight and has a long history of standing with unions. In fact the Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan has included a provision that directly protects union members requiring that all monies left over between what the employer was paying for healthcare and their contribution to Medicare for All be on the bargaining table and that the allocation of those monies be determined via the bargaining process. So that would mean increased wages, pensions, and other benefits to union members.
Furthermore, life happens. Loss of job, career change, firing, health conditions that cause a reduction in work hours often cause a loss of--or reduction of--healthcare benefits. These events are protected under Medicare for All.
There are approximately 90 million people in this country who have either no insurance or who are underinsured. The state of Nevada ranks sixth highest in the nation for uninsured with approximately 14% of Nevadans without healthcare. This is a critical problem that impacts everyone. Ultimately, the cost of providing care to the under and noninsured, which can bankrupt individuals, is passed on to all of us. To remedy this issue there is really only one option that guarantees universal coverage to everyone and that is improved Medicare for All. A Yale study published by The Lancet medical journal last week found that a Medicare for All plan would save the United States $450 billion yearly while saving an estimated 68,000 lives. This program is promoted by Sanders who has championed universal single payer healthcare for decades and ultimately was endorsed by the votes of union members in the great state of Nevada.
As a family physician, I am faced with a daily dilemma of trying to care for individuals who have no insurance or who are underinsured and are unable to purchase prescriptions, let alone pay deductibles or significant copayments required to get the care they need. The further reality is that all of us may find ourselves one illness or injury or job loss away from bankruptcy. Four out of five Americans who suffer bankruptcy due to medical bills and illness had health insurance when they became ill.
Alternative proposals to Medicare for All include providing a public option which ultimately is simply an extension of our current dysfunctional piecemeal, for profit, non-uniform tiered system. Keeping the for profit health insurance industry is misrepresented as allowing individuals greater "choice" to determine their own healthcare needs. The health insurance industry takes away our choice by limiting physician networks, limiting medication formularies and changing these often. Unfortunately, no one can know what their future health needs will be. When will tragedy or illness hit? Individuals will invariably purchase the lowest cost program assuming they have coverage only to find huge deductibles, copayments or inadequate drug and pharmacy coverage.
Only through universal coverage of every person in this country through a comprehensive improved Medicare for All program will people obtain the preventive and follow up medical care services that is their right and should be afforded to everyone in our country.
Senator Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan protects the health and economic interests of each of us, our families and communities. Nevadans and a majority of Americans participating thus far in this year's Democratic primaries understand this while the Democratic Party remains dumbfounded as to why the people are supporting one of its platform's principle tenets--providing healthcare to all Americans. This is reminiscent of the oft quoted proverb: "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." It's time to make our nation's health a priority recognizing that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Join me and physicians across this country in endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders for President.
Robert Dodge
Robert Dodge, MD, is a family physician practicing in Ventura, California. He serves on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles (www.psr-la.org), and serves as the cochair of the Committee to Abolish Nuclear Weapons of National Physicians for Social Responsibility (www.psr.org). Physicians for Social Responsibility is the US Affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War who received the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and is a partner organization of ICAN, recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. He also serves on the Back from the Brink (www.preventnuclearwar.org) steering committee.
Medicare for All won a resounding victory as Sen. Bernie Sanders dominated the Nevada caucus on Saturday.
There had been significant misrepresentation leading to confusion about this proposal. Perhaps no piece was more confusing than the flyer distributed by the Nevada Culinary Union stating that the election of Sanders would end the members' healthcare. That said, rank-and-file union members supported the Sanders' message of #NotMeUs in supporting improved Medicare for All thereby bucking union leadership and guaranteeing healthcare for all.
Union members fight long and hard over their negotiated benefits. Sanders understands full well the battles that unions must fight and has a long history of standing with unions. In fact the Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan has included a provision that directly protects union members requiring that all monies left over between what the employer was paying for healthcare and their contribution to Medicare for All be on the bargaining table and that the allocation of those monies be determined via the bargaining process. So that would mean increased wages, pensions, and other benefits to union members.
Furthermore, life happens. Loss of job, career change, firing, health conditions that cause a reduction in work hours often cause a loss of--or reduction of--healthcare benefits. These events are protected under Medicare for All.
There are approximately 90 million people in this country who have either no insurance or who are underinsured. The state of Nevada ranks sixth highest in the nation for uninsured with approximately 14% of Nevadans without healthcare. This is a critical problem that impacts everyone. Ultimately, the cost of providing care to the under and noninsured, which can bankrupt individuals, is passed on to all of us. To remedy this issue there is really only one option that guarantees universal coverage to everyone and that is improved Medicare for All. A Yale study published by The Lancet medical journal last week found that a Medicare for All plan would save the United States $450 billion yearly while saving an estimated 68,000 lives. This program is promoted by Sanders who has championed universal single payer healthcare for decades and ultimately was endorsed by the votes of union members in the great state of Nevada.
As a family physician, I am faced with a daily dilemma of trying to care for individuals who have no insurance or who are underinsured and are unable to purchase prescriptions, let alone pay deductibles or significant copayments required to get the care they need. The further reality is that all of us may find ourselves one illness or injury or job loss away from bankruptcy. Four out of five Americans who suffer bankruptcy due to medical bills and illness had health insurance when they became ill.
Alternative proposals to Medicare for All include providing a public option which ultimately is simply an extension of our current dysfunctional piecemeal, for profit, non-uniform tiered system. Keeping the for profit health insurance industry is misrepresented as allowing individuals greater "choice" to determine their own healthcare needs. The health insurance industry takes away our choice by limiting physician networks, limiting medication formularies and changing these often. Unfortunately, no one can know what their future health needs will be. When will tragedy or illness hit? Individuals will invariably purchase the lowest cost program assuming they have coverage only to find huge deductibles, copayments or inadequate drug and pharmacy coverage.
Only through universal coverage of every person in this country through a comprehensive improved Medicare for All program will people obtain the preventive and follow up medical care services that is their right and should be afforded to everyone in our country.
Senator Sanders' improved Medicare for All plan protects the health and economic interests of each of us, our families and communities. Nevadans and a majority of Americans participating thus far in this year's Democratic primaries understand this while the Democratic Party remains dumbfounded as to why the people are supporting one of its platform's principle tenets--providing healthcare to all Americans. This is reminiscent of the oft quoted proverb: "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." It's time to make our nation's health a priority recognizing that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Join me and physicians across this country in endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders for President.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.