Universal Single-Payer health care would have kept my family member alive

The U.S. has a screwy health care system that makes most people’s health care dependent upon their employment.  They might get health care if they have a good job with benefits.  But if they get laid off from their jobs, they lose health care.

In contrast, all other modern industrial nations recognize health care as a basic human right, and their governments fund efficient, high quality health care for every person regardless of employment status.

The U.S.’s failure to have Universal Single-Payer health care caused my cousin’s son to DIE.

My cousin’s son had a job with medical benefits.  He had a serious medical problem that required an expensive prescription.  When he was laid off from his job he lost his medical benefits and could not afford to refill his prescription when it ran out.

He found a new job that would start on a Monday, but on Saturday he died because his life-saving medication had run out.

If my cousin’s son had lived in a civilized nation with Universal Single-Payer health care, he would still be alive.

We need to push our state governments and the federal government to adopt Universal Single-Payer.  The federal government is currently too cruel and dysfunctional to take positive actions, so we must organize and push at the state level.  Indeed, this is how many progressive reforms have occurred throughout our history.  State governments are closer to the people, so they can take positive steps.  Then after a number of states have succeeded, the federal government can see that it is “politically safe” to make these reforms.

Support federal level bills and state level bills for Universal Single-Payer health care — and citizen initiatives at the state level.  You and your family members’ lives are at stake.

About GlenAnderson 1499 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org