Single Payer Health Care Summit draws interest

By DAVID LOUD
September 9, 2024

On August 28, over 40 community and labor leaders met in Seattle for a day to discuss single payer health care (universal, publicly financed and administered health care) as an answer to achieving health care for everyone in our country and state, and what it might take to get there. The “Summit” was sponsored by Health Care for All-WA, Health Care Is a Human Right, Physicians for a National Health Program WA, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council, Washington Community Action Network and Whole Washington.

The keynote presentation was given by Rose Roach, National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer. She is also the Chair of Health Care for All Minnesota and a 34-year veteran of the labor movement, recently retiring as the Executive Director of the MN Nurses Association. Her theme was “Why Single-Payer Health Care Would Benefit Unions and Union Members.” See video of Summit’s morning session here. (After a welcome and review of the purpose of the Summit, Rose’s introduction and keynote start at 4:47.)

Rose Roach speaks at the summit. Photo: PNHP Washington

In afternoon breakout sessions, attendees worked on policy, strategy and organizing ideas in four areas:  

• The State Based Universal Health Care Act (HR 6270 and S.4817), a federal proposal for enabling and funding universal health plans at the state level. Advocates in over 20 states, including Washington, are working for state plans as a pathway to a national plan like Improved Medicare for All, as proposed by Rep. Jayapal’s HR 3421 and Sen. Sanders’ S.1655.
• Organizing for a universal state health plan that meets Labor’s needs. The labor movement has largely steered clear of this work so far, but the campaigns for state plans cannot succeed without Labor helping to lead. To succeed, state plans will need to address ten labor issues.
• What can be done in the 2025 legislative session to get us closer to a universal state health plan? In 2021 our state created the Universal Health Care Commission, but its work has been advancing slowly. In November, it will report to the Legislature on SB 5335, the WA Health Trust proposal for a state health plan.
• Can we prevent the total privatization of Medicare by “leveling the playing field” with the private Medicare Advantage plans? This would mean adding benefits to Traditional Medicare (vision, dental, hearing), setting a low out-of-pocket cap to eliminate need for supplemental Medigap insurance, and recouping funds for the Medicare Trust Fund from Medicare Advantage plans’ documented $80-140 Billion annual overpayments. This proposal, launched by the WSLC in 2023 with Resolution #2023.01, is gaining national traction and will be the subject of a new bill in Congress.

For years, the labor movement has fought to expand access to health care and has advocated making quality health care a basic right of all people in the United States. The WSLC and the AFL-CIO have also advocated moving towards a single payer program like Medicare for All.  Our is the only industrial nation without a national health plan for all. And yet the effort to achieve this “gold standard” has faced great obstacles. 

The insurance industry, hospital chains and Big Pharma have used our healthcare dollars and their political power to protect their profits and our fragmented and unsustainable healthcare “system.” Too many elected officials of both parties have been afraid to challenge the industry – but this is beginning the change thanks to grassroots pressure.

Labor has won good health care for millions of its members and their families through collective bargaining. Many unions are reluctant to devote their resources to campaigns for universal health care when so many immediate priorities demand attention. And yet contract fights for health care have resulted in wage stagnation and many strikes. More and more, we are hearing “how good it would be to get health care off the bargaining table” to make more progress on wages, conditions, retirement and other issues.  

It will be a huge social change to win guaranteed quality, affordable and equitable health care for everyone in our country. This will require building a broad health justice movement that intersects with all the other social justice campaigns around race, gender, housing, jobs, climate, economic justice, retirement security, democracy and more. This is our challenge and opportunity. The health justice movement can only succeed with Labor helping to lead the way.

David Loud serves on the Steering Committee for Health Care Is a Human Right and on the Executive Board of the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action. For more information, contact hchrwashington@gmail.com.