PEORIA, IL. -- From a news release:
Medicare for All organizing begins Feb. 9
-- By Bill Knight
The National Nurses United labor union is spearheading a coast-to-coast effort in support of Medicare for All, and in Peoria, several progressive groups and individuals will meet in a “Barnstorming” meeting to organize local actions.
The Peoria Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America are hosting with the Black Justice Project, Peoria Area Green Party, Indivisible Peoria, NAACP Peoria Chapter and Change Peoria co-sponsoring this event.
Organizations and people in favor of improving Medicare and expanding it will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 in the Auditorium of the Peoria Public Library’s Main branch on Monroe at Main Streets downtown, to plan events that could include canvassing and phone banking.
“It’s time to talk about where we are going and how we are going to get there,” said Bonnie Castillo, executive director of National Nurses United. “We cannot simply rely on the electoral process.”
- Much of the focus is on supporting the Democratic-majority House of Representatives’ HR 676, which would improve existing Medicare features and expand the popular program to include everyone.
The Feb. 9 Barnstorm will build on current support:
- 12 incumbent House Democrats have already co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation and 48 freshmen lawmakers campaigned on enacting Medicare for All (M4A);
- M4A is popular (a Reuters poll showed it’s supported by 84.5 percent of Democrats and 51.9 percent of Republicans;
- M4A is cost-effective (a University of Massachusetts study says it would SAVE Americans $5.1 trillion over 10 years, and even a study by the libertarian Mercatus Center (affiliated with the conservative Koch Brothers) conceded that its implementation could result in total health spending that’s $303 billion LOWER in 2031 than current projections). - 30 -
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