Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition, representing over 30 state and national organizations, calls on Maryland voters to sign this petition, asking Maryland Delegates to the DNC to vote against any Democratic party platform that does not include a plank supporting universal, single-payer, New and Improved Medicare for All.
WHEREAS, pre-pandemic, the number of Americans without health insurance was nearly 30 million, while more than 40 million Americans remained under-insured, despite important gains made since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act; and
WHEREAS, the World is currently in the throes of a catastrophic public health crisis; the U.S., with only 4% of the global population, tragically has 25% of all COVID-19 cases and deaths; and
WHEREAS, this public health emergency has resulted in over 40 million American job losses accompanied by loss of employer-based insurance; and
WHEREAS, millions of Americans have lost their healthcare insurance because of those job losses at a time when healthcare is needed most; and
WHEREAS, this crisis has highlighted the need to separate healthcare from employment; and
WHEREAS, our current, for-profit health care system is inherently racist and discriminatory; and
WHEREAS, the never-ending rising costs of health care add challenges to our already strapped municipal budget and our small businesses, which keep our communities thriving; and
WHEREAS, 209 economists have signed a public statement supporting Medicare for All citing billions of dollars in healthcare savings; and
WHEREAS, we believe that healthcare is a basic human right, not a privilege or a luxury; and
WHEREAS, recent polls show that 69% of registered voters including 88% of registered Democrats now believe that a universal, single-payer, Medicare-For-All system is the best way to achieve equitable, affordable and accessible healthcare for all Americans; and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party and their Platform Committee process has failed, to date, to incorporate a clear and progressive platform plank for Medicare-For-All for adoption by the 2020 National Convention; therefore
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the undersigned Democratic voters express their enthusiastic support for the Medicare for All Act of 2019 (H.R. 1384 and S. 1129). We call upon our delegates to the Democratic Convention, in alignment with the majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives who co-sponsored the Medicare for All Act of 2019, to pledge to only vote for a 2020 Platform that includes a universal, single-payer, Medicare-For-All, platform plank.
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