Universal Health Care

1. Universal Healthcare Works

Yes, universal healthcare costs money but so does several valuable things. We shouldn’t just think about costs we should also think about benefits. In fact, we should put benefits first. Why? Because the benefits of Universal Healthcare are many:

- Longer & healthier life spans

- A healthier workforce with decreased sick time

- Decreased STD’s, teen pregnancies and suicides

2. What is Medicare Really?

Created in the 1950’s and launched in 1965 Medicare is a universal healthcare plan for senior citizens and certain chronically ill patients that is run by a federal government agency called the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hence the United States of America has had a fully functional universal health care plan for more than 55 years! In addition to taking care of America’s elderly and sickest population, Medicare has better quality outcomes for clinical care that most private insurance plans.

Some potential benefits for a “Medicare For All” model

- Insurance plans that work in every state

- Insurance plans that accepted virtually hospital and clinical settings

- More self-employed entrepreneurs and small businesses

- Decreased numbers of individual bankruptcies

3. Universal Healthcare is not “free care”

Without a doubt, universal healthcare is taxpayer supported care. However, in many ways the majority of American healthcare is already taxpayer supported. The training of doctors is significantly supported by tax dollars. The research (NIH, FDA, NCI) of medications and medical equipment is significantly supported by tax dollars. The care for poor Americans is already significantly supported by tax dollars.

4. Why Obamacare Matters?

It’s all in the name --- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Medicaid Expansion increased access and the life span of Black people in states that participated in it.

• # of uninsured Blacks decreased by 7% with disparities between Whites and Black improving by 4% in states that expanded Medicaid (2013-2017)

• 37% of Blacks, 32% of Hispanics and 38% of American Indians are on Medicaid

• 46% Blacks and 32% Latinx low-income Americans live in the 14 states the don’t participate in Medicaid expansion