What do we believe in?
We believe that health care is a basic human right, and that the United States must provide with due urgency all its residents with high-quality health care. We envision a health care system that is publicly financed and privately delivered—a system that eliminates health disparities, effectively controls costs, and assures that everyone receives affordable, high quality health care.
Therefore, the mission of the NC Medicare for All Coalition is:
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Our mission is to work together to pass comprehensive, single-payer, improved Medicare for All by mobilizing North Carolinians and pressuring our representatives to ensure that all our communities have equitable access to quality healthcare.
What do we do as a coalition?
We are building a movement of individuals and organizations to promote and advocate for Expanded and Improved Medicare for All using these tactics:
- Educating the public about the medical, financial, and societal benefits of Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.
- Educating and working with legislators and community leaders to develop strategies for achieving the passage of Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.
- Working with organizations throughout North Carolina and the nation to mobilize support for Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.
Why do we need Expanded and Improved Medicare for All now?
- The US health care system is the most expensive in the world and is failing its patients and our country.
- Despite the cost, the US has some of the worst health outcomes (life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality) of any industrialized nation in the world.
- Currently, eligibility for insurance coverage will be taken away if one is unable to pay premiums due to illness, disability or unemployment.
- Even under the Affordable Care Act, nearly 30 million are uninsured and 44 million are underinsured, meaning that while they have health insurance, their high deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs impede their getting the care they need.
What does Expanded and Improved Medicare for All look like?
- Based on the principle that health care is a "public good," not a commodity.
- Funded exclusively by public funds, generated by a progressive schedule of individual, corporate and payroll taxes, without deductibles, co-payments, or out-of-pocket costs of any kind.
- Includes all of the inpatient and outpatient services currently covered by traditional Medicare plus vision, hearing, dental, home health care, contraception, long term care, mental health/behavioral health services, and prescription drugs.
- Every resident (whether documented or not) of the US is included.
- It’s one comprehensive plan with freedom of choice of provider and no more networks restricting care.
- There is no private health insurance except for care that is not covered by Medicare for All.
Core pillars of the NC Medicare for All Coalition
- We recognize that Expanded and Improved Medicare for All is needed to achieve equitable health care access for all residents of the US.
- We will support strategic and coordinated actions across organizations within our state to achieve this policy change at the federal level.
- We recognize that Expanded and Improved Medicare for All is a critical step towards achieving equity and justice throughout all areas of our society, addressing the long standing discriminatory systems that create less access for African American, Latinx and other communities of color, LGBTQ peoples, and those with low income.
How do I join?
- Send an email to [email protected] to be added to the listserv, access all our resources, receive information about our next meeting, fill out this survey to join a working group, and join us in our campaign to achieve health care for all.