It’s no secret that corporate media, Republicans and most Democrats are actively undermining support for Medicare for All. Public opinion polls show widespread and growing support for universal healthcare—but you wouldn’t know that from what you see on the news and read in top media outlets. They’re happy to print the latest budget scaremongering and second-choice “Medicare-for-Some” schemes from politicians in the pocket of big pharma.
As socialists, we know we can’t compromise when it comes to healthcare. Rather than read a thinkpiece on the latest bipartisan healthcare compromise, we want to hear about what our comrades are doing across the country to fight for true health justice.
That’s why we’ve started a monthly campaign newsletter to keep DSA members and those in our community updated on the latest news and information from DSA’s Medicare for All campaign. If you’d like regular M4A campaign updates, news on legislation, and dispatches from what chapters are doing around the country—from your comrades, not corporate media—subscribe here!
Some of our favorite stories come from chapters like DSA Metro Detroit, which had worked for months to force Governor Gretchen Whitmer to remove Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Dan Loepp from her transition team. In December, Detroit comrades confronted Blue Cross Blue Shield directly by storming their offices in Lansing. They were met with fierce resistance from police, who quickly kicked them out of the lobby. But the protesters were undeterred. They took to the sidewalk for over an hour with chants like “Loepp step down,” “We want democracy, not more monopoly,” and a comically long “Daaaaannn Loooeeeppp.” Ultimately, Detroit DSA and other community groups mounted so much pressure that Whitmer chose not to appoint Loepp to her cabinet!
Other stories come from chapters like Portland, where DSA members bird-dogged Senator Ron Wyden at one of his town halls. One DSA member made an impassioned speech about why Wyden must lend his support to Medicare for All, and then questioned Wyden’s paying lip service to healthcare while pocketing millions from pharmaceutical companies. “Is your only message to the young people here today to try not to get sick between the ages of 26 and 55? And pray that you can afford it if you do?” the Portland comrade asks. “Senator, you’re standing in the pathway of change.”
There are many more examples of these types of actions from chapters around the country, and they come in all forms. From Boston voting to make M4A a chapter priority, to Dubuque DSA making this video to encourage members to donate their time and skills to the campaign, each weekend canvass, town hall discussion and chapter vote to support the campaign makes our movement stronger.
We aim to feature a wide range of actions from chapters large and small in the newsletter and on our blog, so please tag us on Twitter or Facebook or email us directly at medicareforall@dsausa.org. The newsletter is written by volunteers of the M4A communications subcommittee.
We won’t settle for anything less than Medicare for All!
Written by DSA M4A Communications Committee, follow them on Twitter!