Why Don’t We Treat Health Care as a Human Right?

Why Don’t We Treat Health Care as a Human Right?

Why Don’t We Treat Health Care as a Human Right?

Isn’t it time we started providing quality care to all Americans?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Why don’t we treat health care as a human right? In 1965 we created Medicare and Medicaid to ensure health care for the elderly and the poor. Today, the government provides health care for over 100 million Americans—that’s 38 percent of the country!

But these programs aren’t good for health insurance and drug companies’ profits. So they’ve fought against expanding public health care tooth and nail, leaving 41 million underinsured, and 27 million Americans without any insurance at all.

It gets worse: People without health insurance are 40 percent more likely to die than those who are covered, and health-care costs remain the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.

But now, we have a plan.

Medicare for All would expand public health care to all Americans. By taking the price-setting out of the hands of insurance companies, we can drastically reduce administrative overhead, and cut down on the cost of prescription drugs and hospital stays.

For you that means no more co-pays, no more deductibles, no more out-of-network fees.

Whatever these savings don’t cover we could pay for by taxing capital gains fairly and closing other loopholes used by the ultra-rich.

Isn’t it time we start providing quality care to all Americans? Together we can make health care a human right.

Join us. We are The Nation. Subscribe today.

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x