By Eve Shapiro. She is an Elected Precinct Committee Person in LD18, a Democratic State Committee member and former PCDP board member. She is a retired pediatrician, now works with TMC and UA campus health. She is also member of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Medicare For All has been a part of our Pima County and state party platform for many years. To date, Senator Kelly has not signed on to the Medicare for All bills in Congress, including the current bill introduced by Senator Sanders. His staff has indicated that it is helpful to hear from constituents, particularly PCs and other active members of the party, about this issue. I am urging you to sign this letter, urging his support. Please contact me if you have any questions at: [email protected]
We are hoping to get a majority of PCs to sign. There is strength in numbers! =former PCDP board member.
If you are in support of the below letter to Senator Mark Kelly, please reply to Dr. Eve Shapiro at [email protected] with your full name, email address, and which Legislative District you reside in. Thank you for all you do.
To the Honorable Senator Kelly:
As your Pima County constituents, we are writing to ask that you consider co-sponsoring this year’s expanded and improved Medicare for All legislation.
As you know, the United States’ current healthcare system costs roughly twice as much per capita as any other industrialized country in the world, yet still leaves tens of millions uninsured and several millions more under insured. This current system causes 10,000s of preventable deaths every year, as well as economic hardships including medical bankruptcies.
We believe that Medicare for All legislation would provide all necessary health care for all people residing in the United States, free at the point of service with no financial barriers, while empowering all patients to choose their health care professionals. It would save businesses, taxpayers, and patients, as well as the federal, state, and local governments $billions each year, lowering per capita costs while delivering high quality healthcare for all.
As you know, over 12.8% of Arizonans under the age of 64 have NO insurance. Arizona has one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation. Medicare for All would be a gamechanger for Arizona and Pima County. We acknowledge your crucial support in lowering prescription drug costs for Seniors, capping Insulin costs, and the other supportive work you’ve done for Arizonans and Seniors particularly. That is why we are asking you to “lean in” to this issue further to extend the right to Healthcare to every American.
Our current system prioritizes profits over care and imposes burdensome demands on health professionals. Medicare for All would help free doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others to provide that care by eliminating these unnecessary complications.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deadly flaws in our current privatized system. Its poor health outcomes include unnecessary costs and delays, as well as waste, fraud, abuse, and—worst of all—denial of life-saving care. These negative effects disproportionately harm the most vulnerable among us including women, rural and urban communities, People of Color, as well as poor and working families.
With Republicans intent on gutting public health programs and Arizonans currently losing Medicaid protections, your support of Medicare for All matters so much now.
Sources:
KFF (formerly Kaiser Family Foundation) kff.org
Commonwealth Fund commonwealthfund.org
Physicians for a National Health Program pnhp.org
Public Citizen citizen.org
If you are in support of this letter and wish to sign your name to it, please reply to this email with your full name, email address, and which Legislative District you reside in.
You can also email Dr. Eve Shapiro directly, indicating your support at: [email protected]