Healthcare Not Warfare Ask your Senators to cosponsor the State-Based Universal Health Care Act
In a country that spends $877 billion every year on the military, should health care debt be the leading cause of bankruptcy? Health care costs are now ten times what they were in 1960, even accounting for inflation. Too many Americans have inadequate access to health care. We all know someone who has avoided health care for too long for fear of cost. We are all aware of people who struggle under the crushing weight of medical debt while they suffer injury or prolonged illness.
We need (and can afford) efficient and fair health care for all! Your Senators can support legislation to enable states to implement universal health care, state by state.
In July, 2024, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced S. 4817, the State Based Universal Health Care Act (SBUHCA) into the U.S. Senate. An identical bill has been carried in the House since 2021 by Rep. Ro Khanna.
This bill unlocks the power of the states by enabling them to design and implement statewide universal healthcare systems while accessing federal money from multiple federal healthcare programs. SBUHCA allows states to form systems that cover all employers and employees, are much more affordable, and are of higher quality. Unlike similar provisions in the Affordable Care Act, SBUHCA enables states to:
- integrate Medicare funds into a state plan
- allows states to cooperate on multi-state plans
- mandates that participating states guarantee healthcare coverage for at least 95% of residents in the first 5 years, thus reducing the uninsured and underinsured populations to less than 5%
- helps states test universal health plans that could be a model for a national plan
Please urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 4817.