Issue Position: Universal Single Payer Health Care -- The Time Has Come

Issue Position

Universal Single Payer Health Care - The Time Has Come

Our nation's health care system is sick. In fact it is dying. At least 40 million citizens of the richest nation in the world have no insurance, and an equal number are underinsured. The sad fact is that only the wealthiest citizens don't have to worry about their access to quality health care, about being denied service, or about losing their health care at some point in time. Our system works well for almost nobody.

I believe that health care is a moral right and I have voted to mandate access in the Massachusetts Constitution. The good news is that the United States has the potential to have the best health care in the world, but only with bold and unwavering leadership to make the serious changes that are needed.

The creation of a single-payer system in which the government covers all citizens is a tried and proven approach. If we leave our health care system as it is, or make only minor changes, the high cost and extreme inefficiency will continue to destroy the financial stability of the federal and state governments.

Now is the time to take action. Jobs are leaving the United States and the middle class is leaving Massachusetts - in large part because of our ineffective health care system that prioritizes corporate profit over people. Our communities are suffering as a result, but this does not have to be the way we live. As your Congressman, I will make the establishment of a national health care system - that covers every man, woman and child - with care the can never be taken away - my biggest long-term priority.

Yes, it can be done, but only with strong leadership. 69 Congressmen have signed on to sponsor universal, single-payer health care legislation - including half of our Massachusetts delegation. We have reached a tipping point in the health care crisis, and we must choose between real change and half-measures.

Source