Medicare for All Bill Introduced by Pramila Jayapal Gets Record 120 Cosponsors

On Sunday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), announced that 120 people have signed on to a bill that would establish Medicare for All in the U.S.

“We’ve officially got a record 120 co-sponsors on my Medicare for All Act!” said JayapalThe legislation was introduced and signed by. “Thrilled to welcome Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida) to our fight to ensure health care as a human right!”

Signing on to the bill as a cosponsor is one of Cherfilus-McCormick’s first acts since being sworn inIn mid-January, as a member in Congress. Last week, Representatives Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) also became cosponsors of the bill; original cosponsors include progressive “squad” members like Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota).

H.R. 2021 is the Medicare for All Act of 2021. 1976, would create a single-payer healthcare system for the U.S. The bill would ensure that all U.S. residents have access to health care, regardless of their ability to pay.

Jayapal’s bill would establish a more generous plan than in countries like Canada, where the single-payer health care system doesn’t cover vital services like vision, dental or prescriptions. H.R. H.R. 1976 includes these benefits as well as long-term rehabilitation and nursing services.

Medicare for All has been a rallying call for progressives across America for years. It was popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I -Vermont) during his 2016 presidential campaign. Some experts have pointed to the fact that the original idea behind the Medicare programIt was for all residents to be able to access health care, and not just some.

“We mean a complete transformation of our health care system and we mean a system where there are no private insurance companies that provide these core benefits,” Jayapal saidWhen she introduced the bill in March. “We mean universal care, everybody in, nobody out.”

Although the bill is unlikely be passed by Congress, the record number cosponsors suggests the push for Medicare for All is gaining momentum as progressives in Congress are growing in numbers.

Jayapal introduced the bill with only 112 cosponsors when he first introduced it. she introduced it in the last CongressIt had only 106 cosponsors. In 2019, Sanders introducedA Medicare for All bill was introduced in the Senate by 14 cosponsors. The bill has not been reintroduced in this Congress.

“In my view, the current debate over Medicare for All really has nothing to do with health care. It’s all about greed and profiteering. It is about whether we maintain a dysfunctional system which allows the top five health insurance companies to make over $20 billion in profits last year,” Sanders saidIn 2019. These profits will be available in 2019. have only multipliedSince the beginning of the pandemic.

Polling has shown that a majority of AmericansProposals for Medicare for all are welcome. Although the idea has gained some momentum in Congress over these years, it still faces strong opposition from lobbyists.

Private health insurance are making record profitsWhile insuring fewer people reports have found that the U.S.’s health expenditures are the highest among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), while the U.S.’s health care system ranks last on measures like access, efficiency, equity and health outcomes. Pharmaceutical companies are dependent on the U.S. citizens’ profits, according to a report.Last yearIt was found that prescription drug prices in the United States are up to 10 times higher than in other countries.

Lobbyists, looking to maintain these profits, play a huge role in the legislative equation – according to Politico, the health care industry lobby has created an “army” to fight Medicare for All in Congress, developing cozy relationships with Democrats and Republicans alike. Last year health insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyistsWhile they were drafting the Build Back better Act, they maxed out their contributions to Democrats. We set out to lower the sky-high prescription drug costs.