The Agawam City Council should pass TR-2024-9, a resolution to urge state legislators to establish Medicare for All, a single-payer health care system for all who reside in Massachusetts.
Imagine entering your doctor’s office, showing your new “Medicare for All” ID card and being told that there will be no co-pay, no deductible, no co-insurance. You also chose this provider because they aligned with your needs and because any licensed provider you chose would be accepted by Medicare for All. No more Provider Panels. No more pre-authorizations for treatments or procedures.
Imagine that under Medicare for All, you can receive vision care and dental care.
Now picture Agawam’s Mayor Johnson having a $12.9 million dollar savings each year from the town’s employees and retired employee’s healthcare costs.
Imagine being a small business owner and not having to worry about rising healthcare costs or to compete with larger companies for employees looking for the best health insurance, or to negotiate with health insurance brokers each and every year.
Medicare for All would:
- Save approximately 29% of our current spending on health care.
- Take the burden of rising healthcare costs off of most small businesses, municipalities and families.
- Eliminate medical debt and medical bankruptcy.
- Use the power of consolidation and numbers to lower prescription drug costs.
- Finally, Medicare for All would guarantee access to quality, affordable health care as a right for all residents of the commonwealth.
We don’t have to imagine. This is a future within reach for all residents of the commonwealth. By supporting Medicare for All in bills H. 1239 and S. 744, we can create a more predictable, sustainable way forward to a more robust public health system. See MassCare.org for more info.
Guy Qvistgaard
Agawam