MEDICARE FOR ALL

America’s healthcare system is fundamentally broken and a single-payer healthcare system will save millions of lives.
For the first time in a decade, the number of Americans without health insurance actually rose in 2018—by two million people. A staggering 27.5 million Americans, or 8.5% of the population, went completely uninsured. In the richest nation in the history of the world, this is unconscionable.
No person should avoid necessary medical treatment because they are afraid they cannot afford it. No person should go into debt for accessing the care they need. No person should be forced to beg friends and neighbors for money for expensive treatment.
Health care is a human right. That’s why I support Medicare for All. Together, we can:
- Eliminate Fees: Americans are drowning in rising copays, deductibles and premiums. Nearly one-third of adults reported not taking prescribed medication due to cost, and one in four reported delaying treatment on a serious condition. This model is unsustainable and works only to the benefit of the for-profit health care industry. Health care should not be a for-profit business. We must eliminate these fees -- all copays, deductibles, and premiums -- and join the rest of the industrialized world with a true single-payer system. A family that makes $60,000 would pay $1,200 a year under Medicare for All through payments similar to Social Security, compared to the $12,000 a year they would pay to private insurance corporations for their health care.
- Expand Coverage: Even Americans with health insurance often cannot get the care they need. Vision, dental, reproductive, mental health and long-term care are luxuries in our current system - coverage that many Americans need but cannot afford. It is time to give Americans universal coverage. Every doctor will be in your network, and your employer will no longer dictate your coverage options. Additionally, the added burden of navigating paperwork and forms to get the services you need will be greatly reduced. You get the treatment you need, without needing a team of lawyers and accountants to help you get the paperwork in order.
- Lower Prescription Drug Prices: It’s time to force the pharmaceutical industry back to the negotiating table. Americans pay outrageous prices for prescription drugs because our government has been bought and sold to lobbyists. That’s why I’m thrilled to endorse the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, the Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, and the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act. These bills will allow the government to negotiate drug prices, lock them to the median of other comparable countries like France and Germany, and allow consumers to buy directly from cheaper markets like Canada. We must also hold negligent pharmaceutical corporations criminally responsible for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive rights are under attack across the country. Medicare for All would cover reproductive services including abortion. I also support repealing the Hyde Amendment because I believe abortion is healthcare, and healthcare is a human right.
Maternal Health
In New York State, 54 Black women died for every 100,000 births -- four times the maternal mortality rate of white women. This is a tragic moral and political failure. Lack of quality health care and systemic racism are major factors to address here and Medicare for All will confront both racial and gender disparities in our health care system.

While the current leadership has failed to produce results, Jamaal has been successfully fighting for families in the state.