The pledge is largelysymbolic, as even the petition's creators say they will stand firmin their support of Democratic nominee Joe Biden. (Photo: TiffanyHagler-Geard/Bloomberg)
The flame of the Medicare for All movement may have dwindledwhen Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign, but ithasn't extinguished completely. More than 60 delegates have signeda petition to vote against a platform thatdoesn't include support for Medicare for All health care reform,with hundreds more expected to add their support.
|"This pandemic has shown us that our private health insurancesystem does not work for the American people. Millions of peoplehave lost their jobs and their health care at the same time,"Judith Whitmer, a delegate for Sen. Sanders told Politico. "There's people leaving the hospitalnow with millions of dollars in medical bills. What are we going todo about that?"
|Related: Biden's'unity' task force rolls out its vision for health carereform
|The pledge is largely symbolic, as even the petition's creatorssay they will stand firm in their support of Democratic nominee JoeBiden, who has campaigned on a more moderate health care reformplatform that builds on the Affordable Care Act and would create apublic option. Instead, the supporters are hoping to raiseawareness for the issue.
|"The sea change that's underway could swell as a result of thisinitiative," Norman Solomon, national director of the advocacygroup RootsAction.org, told Politico. "It's a reasonable hope thathistorians will look back at the next couple of weeks as a timewhen hundreds of delegates stepped forward and said, 'This is a redline for a humane society and we're not going to stop sayingso.'"
|Single-payer health care proposals such as Medicare for All,once considered extreme, have gained acceptance and moved into themainstream in recent years. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak,California had launched a commission to explore creating asingle-payer option, and even doctors were signing onto the idea.
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Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
