Sign the petition: Medicare for All!

Health care should be a basic right for everyone in the United States. It's a national shame that so many Americans have to choose between lifesaving health care and going into debt or bankruptcy. Now that we've defended the Affordable Care Act from repeal, we need to improve on its limitations and make sure that no American is uninsured.

16 senators just introduced Medicare for All, single-payer health care legislation  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders Senator Tammy Baldwin Senator Richard Blumenthal Cory Booker U.S. Senator Al Franken U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand U.S. Senator Kamala Harris Senator Martin Heinrich Senator Mazie K. Hirono Senator Patrick Leahy Senator Edward J. Markey Senator Jeff Merkley Brian Schatz Senator Tom Udall U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

Pleases, support these senators by signing this petition:

To be delivered to The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate:

The American people are ready for Medicare for All, and it is time for Congress to act. We must ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable health care—and not at the mercy of private insurance companies that profit by denying care.

Sign the petition here

Healthcare? The GOP is back with another We Don't Care bill

The clock is running out on the GOP's attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, so of course they have another proposal in the queue to try to "save healthcare," Republican style.

Graham, Cassidy, Heller, and Johnson (sounds like a law firm, doesn't it?) have a grand new plan to shift control of healthcare to the states. Sounds great, right? After all, we've been told innumerable times that the states know best. And this plan promises a lot of the old Republican standards: Health Savings Accounts, rollbacks of employer mandates, and block grants.

As usual, this plan will hurt those who can least afford it: the working poor and the middle class will see their insurance coverage diminish, their premiums go up, and more money out of pocket for deductibles. Small businesses will also see less support for providing health coverage for their employees. And, if you're old or have a pre-existing condition, watch out: the bill doesn't remove the mandate to cover people with pre-existing conditions, but it does allow states to apply for waivers to the law that would allow insurers to charge exorbitant premiums to cover those patients. Also, it dismantles rules prohibiting insurance companies from selling worthless junk policies.

But, there are some who would benefit: medical device manufacturers will see a tax cut, large employers will no longer be required to provide coverage to their employees, and the states that refused to expand medicare coverage to spite President Obama will get a bonus for their loyalty to party, paid for by the states who tried to put their citizens ahead of politics.

Yep. This is exactly the kind of healthcare plan we can expect from today's Republican Party.  One of GOP's rallying calls is that this plan is the last chance to stop Bernie's Medicare for All act.

I personally believe that America should catch up with the rest of the civilized world and provide healthcare for all of us.  But even if you don't want your tax dollars to pay for other people's coverage, look at it this way - you will save money on your healthcare under Bernie's plan. The increase in taxes is MUCH less than the cost of coverage (not even factoring in the cost of the huge deductibles.)

With the GOP's plan block grants will diminish over time forcing states to charge more taxes if they want to keep or expand medicare. The states would have a choice on how they use that money, but only 20% is allowed for medicare. One problem with each state having separate healthcare plans is that we would lose our collective bargaining power so the cost of premiums would go up.

So if our healthcare ends up in the hands of the states, the big question is, "Will my state representatives take care of me and my family?"

Support Tulsi as she co-sponsors the Medicare for All bill

While the continued debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act goes on, a recent USA Today poll shows that 88% of Americans do not support the Senate’s plan. Let's shift the conversation to how we can actually improve health care. In contrast to the Senate plan, an AP poll from last week found that 62% of Americans believe it is the federal government’s responsibility to guarantee health care to all Americans, and we have a bill that would guarantee Medicare for All in the House right now. I have signed on as a co-sponsor, but we need to show the support Medicare for All has outside of Washington.

Tell Congress to support H.R. 676, the Medicare for All Act.

We all know that the Affordable Care Act needs to be improved. While it helped to insure more than 20 million people, expand Medicaid coverage, and end the discrimination of people with pre-existing conditions by insurance companies, we still have millions of people today without any health insurance at all. Even more are underinsured, struggling to afford the skyrocketing cost of premiums, deductibles, and copays for the prescriptions and care that they need. Meanwhile, prescription drug and insurance companies continue to prosper.

While the American people struggle to receive the vital health care they need, pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, are using deceptive marketing tactics, lying about the addictive nature of their drugs, price gouging, and moving to other countries to exploit foreign markets as they have ours while raking in billion dollar profits. The Republican health care bill amounts to a handout to pharmaceutical companies by cutting their taxes, shifting the burden of cost onto ordinary families who are suffering from the opioid epidemic.

I will continue fighting to advance this cause in Congress, but I can't do it without you. Mahalo for allowing me the honor to serve.

Aloha,

Tulsi

Petition supporting H.R. 676, the Medicare for All Act

More information on H.R. 676 Medicare for All Act

Even more information.