Humane Healthcare
America spends more money on healthcare than any other OECD nation, yet has the worst health outcomes. Countless Americans can't afford to access quality care.
Our system today doesn't work for the People, only for Big Business.
"In the United States, we cannot enjoy the right to health care. Our country has a system designed to deny, not support, the right to health. The United States does not really have a health care system, only a health insurance system."
- Mary Gerisch for the American Bar Association
The issue
America is the only developed nation without a public, nonprofit health system. Our system – described as "an outlier in the developed world" – prioritizes corporate profits over accessible, affordable care. America spends more on healthcare as a share of the economy than any other OECD country, yet we have the worst health outcomes. We have the highest chronic disease burden, the highest rates of obesity, avoidable deaths, infant mortality and suicide, the most preventable hospitalizations, and we see doctors less frequently. Americans pay 2.56x more than similar nations for the same prescription drugs. All while Big Health is enjoying greater profits than ever. Our system isn't working for the American people; it's time we reform it.
Read the detailed policy fact sheet:
How we fix it:
🧑⚕️ Transition to a 'single-payer' healthcare system
In other countries, everyone pays into a national plan administered by a public health agency and gets the same coverage.
In America, we pay into our employer's plan, and it's administered by the for-profit insurers who sell it to them (at whatever rate and coverage level they see fit). These insurers should focus on providing accessible, affordable care, but they're incentivized to do the opposite: raise prices, deny care, and cut staff to boost profits. Single-payer would make healthcare...
Cheaper for our country
In a review of all 22 current single-payer proposals, the National Institute of Health found that 19 would “predict net-savings in the first year of program operation, and 20 predict net-savings over several years.”
Cheaper for individuals
Under a single-payer system, “households’ health insurance premiums would be eliminated, and out-of-pocket costs would decline.” Working families would pay up to 14% less on their annual health care costs
Truly universal
With 1-in-10 Americans uninsured today, and 1-in-4 unable to afford needed care, we aren't fully honoring Americans' right to health. Single-payer ensures all of us can live with dignity.
🧠 Cover comprehensive, universal mental healthcare
Mandate insurers cover mental healthcare
The science is clear: mental illness is every bit as real as physical illness, and can be equally detrimental to a person’s life. It doesn’t make sense to cover care for the body and not the mind, though that’s the case with many insurers today. Legislation like the Mental Health Parity Compliance Act would require insurers to determine where barriers to mental health coverage exist and to help remove those barriers.
Expand mental healthcare services for students
Per the Kaiser Family Foundation, “school-based mental health services improve access to care, allow for early identification and treatment of mental health issues, and are linked to reduced absenteeism and better mental health outcomes." We must expand funding for these services.
The endgame: full mental healthcare under through single-payer
Today, under a for-profit healthcare system, insurers are motivated to deny mental healthcare coverage in order to save money. Under a single-payer system with no profit motive, we’ll all get comprehensive coverage.
💊 Regulate prescription drug prices
Crack down on price-gouging
The same medications cost 2.56x more in America than in the average OECD country, and we “spend more on the top 20 most-prescribed medications than the rest of the world combined.”The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would allow the federal government to negotiate for lower prices –supported by 88% of Americans.
Enforce 28 U.S.C. 1498
As outlined by NYU Law, the statute “gives the federal government the power to bypass privately owned patents to increase access to medications, through accelerated licensing and distribution of generic versions of those medications.” It’s a law that benefits the public without hampering drug development by reimbursing developers.
🪖 Provide greater care for our veterans
Fully fund the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system to cover all vets.
Many veterans are ineligible for VA health services due to limited appropriations and rationing criteria. The VA is uniquely positioned to serve the needs of veterans, and it should be equipped to cover all vets instead of outsourcing their care to private health insurers.
Expand CHAMPVA for dependents under 26
Private health insurance and TRICARE plans are mandated to cover a member's dependents under age 26. VA plans don't have the same mandate; they should.
In the meantime: Allow family members and ineligible veterans to purchase VA care
By allowing family members and ineligible veterans to purchase VA care in areas where VA hospitals and facilities are underutilized, volume will increase and help prevent closures of needed VA facilities.
Expand services for veteran caregivers
The 5.5 million American adults who serve as caregivers to veterans "face significant challenges in fulfilling their responsibilities to a greater extent than their civilian counterparts.” We must provide the services that support them just as they support their veteran loved ones.
Expand VA budgetary oversight
The Veteran Healthcare Improvement Act requires the GAO to review and report on the budget requests for VA medical care accounts.
✨ Promote the development of innovative clinical therapeutics
Declassify Schedule 1 drugs for clinical research
Some patients don’t respond to traditional forms of mental health treatment, but antiquated drug laws are preventing research teams from testing innovative new therapeutics like psilocybin and MDMA in clinical settings. Declassifying these substances will remove barriers to their research, which has shown incredible promise.
Fund organizations performing this research
Organizations like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) are researching how to optimize and apply these new treatments in a clinical setting. It’s critical that we “open up access to MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy for Veterans who are at serious risk of suicide and have exhausted all other options.”