We are organizing to make Medicare for All a reality. We believe that affordable healthcare is a right. We believe that people should be able to get medical help for themselves and for their children without worrying about whether they’ll be able to pay for it.
Expanded and Improved Medicare for All, also known as HR 676, is the next best step to improve healthcare in the United States. The LCDP endorses single payer healthcare and Medicare for All. The principles and facts below are the basis for that support.
Principles:
Single Health Program – Everyone will be in one risk pool under one program
Comprehensive – Includes dental, vision, mental services, and prescriptions
Free at point of services – No charge at hospitals or clinics
Universal coverage – Every resident is covered
Jobs – Includes transition program for eliminated jobs
Facts and Stats:
Cost savings from insurance companies
– 30 cents of every dollar spent in current healthcare system goes to insurance companies, which will be almost entirely eliminated under M4A
Cost savings from administrative overhead
– 31 cents of every dollar spent in current healthcare system goes to administrative overhead
– 3 cents of every dollar spent in current healthcare system goes to administrative overhead in M4A
Job transition plan
– M4A includes job transitioning for positions that are eliminated under Medicare for all, such as insurance and administrative roles
– Our country is only meeting about 57% of our healthcare needs, requiring over 8,500 more providers. Transitioning these jobs into the provider field can further improve healthcare in our country
Cost savings from improved availability of preventative care
– Chronic diseases account for 75% of our healthcare spending. Preventative care can greatly reduce these diseases, our spending, and ultimately our demand for healthcare.
– Adding millions of younger healthier people to the risk pool improves the overall risk
Cost savings from pharmaceutical bargaining power
– The VA currently gets a 40% discount on pharmaceuticals because of their collective bargaining power.