Guest Post By Dr. Abdul El-Sayed-- Medicare-For-All... NOW

I hope you remember our old friend from Detroit, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. Abdul is a physician, epidemiologist, and progressive activist. He is Senior Advisor at Medicare for All NOW! We endorsed him when he ran for governor of Michigan in 2018 as did Bernie, AOC, Justice Democrats and The Nation. Prior to that, he served Detroit as Health Director. We are very enthusiastic about what he's doing now at Medicare For All Now! and we asked him to share an explanation with DWT readers and Blue America members. If you like what you hear-- and I know you will-- please consider clicking on the thermometer at the bottom of the page that we just set up to support the work of that organization.

Medicare For All NOW!
-by Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

Medicare for All has emerged as a rallying cry for Progressives across the country. However, as the plan has grabbed the national imagination with the promise of universal coverage without copays, deductibles or premiums, it has also grabbed the attention of fierce opposition from the corporations and CEOs who make so much money off the current system.

Hospital systems, insurers, and drug companies have begun to rail against Medicare for All, propping up interest groups and pouring millions into anti-Medicare for all ads in key states. The opposition is well-funded, organized, and determined and their message aims to paint Medicare for all as a danger to the communities who would most benefit from its passage.

Medicare for All NOW! was started by Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive who blew the whistle on the industry’s greed, to push back on their misinformation campaigns. Led by Kerri Evelyn Harris, who ran for Senate in Delaware in 2018, we are working in critical states to tell the truth about Medicare for All: Medicare for All extends our choices by eliminating the insurance company middlemen telling you what doctor you can or can’t see. Medicare for All reduces costs by eliminating the out-of-pocket spending that is driving so many families into bankruptcy. And Medicare for All would be the best way to protect Medicare for seniors by increasing the services it covers and by making it more sustainable.

Right now, we are mobilizing in South Carolina, where the opposition assumes that voters won’t support Medicare for All. But we know that’s not true-- in fact, we’re confident that Medicare for All is just the organizing tool that can propel a pro-Medicare for All candidate to primary victory in South Carolina, where 30% are either on healthcare for the poor or uninsured.

Every $25,000 we raise will put 20 organizers to work-- each coordinating 150,000 doors knocked. After South Carolina, we intend to work in the most important Battle Ground States of 2020 throughout the general, organizing around Medicare for All.

But we can’t do it without you. Will you support us? Right now, every dollar you give earns us $2 total. Howie Klein has generously agreed to match every dollar you contribute up to $2,500. Help us win a future where no one goes without the healthcare they need, where no one has to go bankrupt because of healthcare debt, and where out-of-pocket healthcare costs are no more.

Help us win the future for Medicare for All.