Resolution calls on elected representatives to support Medicare for All, constituents ask: Are you listening Madam Speaker?

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to support a resolution introduced by Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer endorsing the Medicare for All Act, H.R. 1384. Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the bill in the House of Representatives last month. The legislation, which already has 107 co-sponsors, would guarantee comprehensive healthcare to all residents, slash patient and family costs for care, and ensure real patient choice.

“This is the right bill at the right time and we commend and thank the board of supervisors for your leadership and for urging all congressional representatives from San Francisco and throughout the state to support this legislation, including House Speaker Pelosi. Are you listening Madam Speaker?” said RN Juli Carter, at a rally held yesterday just prior to the board of supervisor’s meeting. Carter was speaking on behalf of the California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United, which represents 150,000 acute care hospital nurses nationwide and has been actively mobilizing grassroots support for the bill.

With the resolution the board of supervisors “affirms that healthcare is a human right,” and notes that under the current for-profit system, “the uninsured rate for U.S. adults has risen for four straight years up to nearly 30 million, even after implementation of the ACA, with the greatest increase among women, young adults, and lower-income people.” The resolution goes on to state that the board endorses H.R. 1384, because it “will expand health coverage and health security, eliminate health care disparities, and lower health care costs for all our residents.”

“Together we can make this vision of health care as a human right a reality but we know we can’t just rely on the electoral process to make this happen. This month alone, outreach is happening all over San Francisco, from the Richmond to Ingleside and many neighborhoods in between,” said Carter. “The campaign is also blossoming in communities across the country - regular folks, nurses, veterans, students, senior citizens, volunteering to connect with their neighbors and spread the word about Medicare for All.”

The full text of the San Francisco resolution can be viewed here.

To find out about upcoming Medicare for All actions in San Francisco and around the U.S. click here.

The full text of H.R. 1384 can be accessed here.