{"id":48597,"date":"2026-06-09T11:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48597"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:38:16","slug":"now-is-the-time-to-organize-says-medicare-for-all-coalition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/09\/now-is-the-time-to-organize-says-medicare-for-all-coalition\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Now Is the Time to Organize,\u2019 Says Medicare for All Coalition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An advocate holds a sign during a news conference on Medicare Advantage plans in front of the US Capitol on July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe American people are hungry for bold ideas that reform fundamental institutions that have failed them for too long. And they are looking for leaders who will take on powerful interests and fight for working people.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 08, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Americans endure the high prices<\/a> of food<\/a>, gasoline<\/a>, housing<\/a>, medication<\/a>, and more<\/a> under President Donald Trump<\/a> and the Republican-controlled Congress, a coalition of over 325 organizations argued<\/a> Monday that \u201cnow is the time for Medicare for All<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur democracy<\/a> is struggling, and the status quo is not working. Too many corporate-backed politicians continue to push for a \u2018business as usual\u2019 approach while wages stagnate, public goods and services erode, and billionaires amass grotesque amounts of wealth,\u201d says the coalition\u2019s open letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHow can one feel optimism for our future when over 40% of us are carrying around the burden of medical debt?\u201d the letter asks, citing data<\/a> from KFF. \u201cHow can we plan for our futures when we can\u2019t afford to go to the doctor or cover rent?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the coalition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We need an agenda that working-class people and everyday Americans can rally behind. Without one, far-right, fascist politicians are filling that void. This fascist agenda redirects people\u2019s rightful anger at our system\u2019s failures to unjustly place blame on immigrants, low-income people, and people of color. It\u2019s time to acknowledge that failing to provide transformational policies and hope to the working class<\/a> has allowed fascism<\/a> to rise and hold on to power. It\u2019s time to challenge the corrupt CEOs who profit off despair. To show people real solutions that can work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one can fix our rigged economy overnight. Our structural inequality<\/a> is decades in the making. But one piece of the solution is to take on one of the largest industries in our country: healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.) and Reps. Pramila Jayapal<\/a> (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) have repeatedly introduced the Medicare<\/a> for All Act. While support<\/a> for the bill among elected Democrats and the US public has grown, the legislation hasn\u2019t progressed in either chamber, which are both narrowly controlled by the GOP<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, \u201cwe may face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to legislate on healthcare in 2029,\u201d notes the letter. While the midterms are less than five months away, enacting a federal Medicare for All system would likely require electing more members of Congress and a new president who would support such legislation in the November 2028 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to rally behind the boldest possible reform, Medicare for All, that brings together the broadest possible movement, not overly complex incremental measures that prop up the same systems we\u2019re seeing fail under the weight of attacks by Trump and Republicans<\/a>,\u201d the groups argued. \u201cThe American people are hungry for bold ideas that reform fundamental institutions that have failed them for too long. And they are looking for leaders who will take on powerful interests and fight for working people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow is the time to organize and inspire!\u201d the coalition stressed. \u201cA small minority of skeptical healthcare policy wonks may try to convince us to scale back, that structural change isn\u2019t winnable. The reality is that alternative proposals don\u2019t move us towards Medicare for All and complicate our already broken system. Halfway measures allow corporations to continue profiting off the sick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X post: https:\/\/x.com\/PramilaJayapal\/status\/2063780800160522620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2063780800160522620%7Ctwgr%5Eed1cb9223b673a6871b1f5fe1474831adc9e2ec1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fwhat-is-medicare-for-all<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter urges members of Congress \u201cto stop listening to the political consultants and start listening to the people,\u201d and Americans nationwide to \u201cjoin us in dreaming of an economy that works for all of us. Where workers<\/a> get paid a living wage and have expanded and enforced rights. A future where people can afford safe, healthy, and affordable housing<\/a> and utilities. Where schools are robustly funded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA core part of that vision is making healthcare a human right,\u201d the letter emphasizes. \u201cAmericans understand we must get corporate greed<\/a> out of our healthcare system once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter was circulated Monday by the consumer watchdog Public Citizen<\/a>, whose healthcare policy advocate, Eagan Kemp, said<\/a> in a statement that \u201cthe massive momentum for Medicare for All should serve as a wake-up call to all who profit from our broken healthcare system and those who do their bidding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryday Americans are tired of watching the pigs at the healthcare trough gorge themselves day after day while hundreds of millions of people in the wealthiest country in the world suffer from inadequate access to care, delays and denials, and crushing medical debt,\u201d Kemp argued. \u201cMedicare for All would end the ability of corporations to put greed ahead of people\u2019s needs and would finally guarantee that everyone in the US can get the care they require.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe movement for Medicare for All is growing by leaps and bounds because the people are demanding change,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is time those in power meet the moment and fight for the healthcare system we need and that the people are demanding, Medicare for All.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coalition members include the Democratic Socialists of America, Indivisible, MoveOn, National Nurses United,\u00a0National Organization for Women<\/a>, One Fair Wage, Our Revolution, People\u2019s Action Institute, Physicians for a National Health Program,\u00a0Progressive Democrats of America<\/a>, RootsAction,\u00a0Sunrise Movement<\/a>, United We Dream Action, and other organizations that advocate for people with disabilities, seniors, women\u2019s rights, workers, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An advocate holds a sign during a news conference on Medicare Advantage plans in front of the US Capitol on July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. \u00a0(Photo: Alex Wong\/Getty Images) \u201cThe American people are hungry for bold ideas that reform fundamental institutions that have failed them for too long. And… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2003],"tags":[55],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48598,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48597\/revisions\/48598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}