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Articles by Michael Lighty
Mark Dudzic
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At a time of inflation, California should take a bold step to tame rising health care costs | Opinion Original
The word of the year for 2022 could have been “inflation.” Air travel prices rose nearly 40% from a year earlier. Grocery, housing, energy and other prices are also up. And once again, the cost of health care, which makes up nearly a fifth of our economy, is rising sharply. Most health insurers in the individual market are expecting premium increases between 5% and 14% this year, according to Axios, and family out-of-pocket health care costs have jumped 10%.
Nurses Set To Strike Against New York City’s Healthcare Monopolies
Decades of mergers and acquisitions have turned New York’s hospitals into profit-oriented corporations. Nurses are fighting to change that. Michael Lighty January 6, 2023 On New Year’s Eve, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced that nearly 17,000 nurses at eight major New York hospitals planned to begin a strike January 9 if management did not meet their demands for increased staffing, fair compensation and health and safety protections.
Commission's Report Shows Medicare for All Is Logical Next Step for California Original
For years, the private insurance company lobby has falsely claimed that California can’t afford quality and universal healthcare. But a comprehensive new study shows we simply can’t afford not to adopt a universal healthcare system that will save California families and businesses over $100 billion per year.
Opinion | Commission's Report Shows Medicare for All Is Logical Next Step for California
A universal healthcare system utilizing a single-payer model in the state will save California families and businesses over $100 billion per year. The door to quality, universal, and affordable care is open and so now we must walk through. For years, the private insurance company lobby has falsely claimed that California can’t afford quality and universal healthcare.
Opinion | Commission's Report Shows Medicare for All Is Logical Next Step for California
Opinion | Commission's Report Shows Medicare for All Is Logical Next Step for California | Michael Lighty
The Plan to Save Californians $117 Billion a Year by Switching to Single-Payer
Why is universal health care seen as prohibitively expensive when the status quo costs far more? fb tw mail Print msg wa sms Bookmark February 25, 2022 A doctor and other supporters of Medicare for All gather before Democratic senators arrive for a news conference. (Andrew Harnik / AP Photo) Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week.
On What Just Happened to Medicare for All in California — and the Organizing We Need to Win | The Smirking Chimp
Why is a healthcare system—Medicare for All—that costs less described as "too expensive?" Why hasn't the overwhelming popularity of Medicare for All—85% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 52% (!) of GOP support it—translated into legislative majorities? Why is Medicare for All, a version of which is utilized in 50 countries around the world, presented as 'untested?' The recent demise of the Medicare for All style reform bill in California, AB 1400, reveals some answers.
States Now Hold the Key to Making Medicare for All a Reality
The Democrats’ omnibus Build Back Better plan, which includes an expansion of healthcare benefits through bolstering the Affordable Care Act, is currently stalled in the Senate. President Biden has so far made no push to enact a public option, as he campaigned on. And Medicare for All — a cornerstone issue in the 2020 Democratic primary — is not on the party’s current congressional agenda. But that doesn’t mean that the movement to achieve universal healthcare is slowing down.
Locked Out of the Sausage Factory: Will Medicare Expansion Survive the Budget Reconciliation Debates?
by Michael Lighty and Mark Dudzic The Build Back Better Bill started out as a great, sprawling piece of legislation comprising the most ambitious set of social programs since the Johnson Administration. It is an attempt to actually implement a major portion of President Joe Biden's campaign program. Such an attempt is itself a rarity in American politics where the usual practice is to relegate the presidential campaign program to the archives long before inauguration day.
Opinion | Locked Out of the Sausage Factory: Will Medicare Expansion Survive the Budget Reconciliation Debates?
Opinion | Locked Out of the Sausage Factory: Will Medicare Expansion Survive the Budget Reconciliation Debates? | Michael Lighty
Bernie’s New Plan: Add Dental Benefits to Medicare
While often seen as a health care afterthought, forgoing dental work can have serious long-term consequences: reduced ability to speak, reduced ability to eat healthy foods — not to mention reduced confidence in one’s appearance. Gum disease can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and more severe diabetes.
Ed Asner: Socialist To the Core
September 8, 2021 by Kim Fellner and Michael Lighty When we lost Ed Asner last week, DL reached out to comrades who worked with him to build what was then an embrsyonic formation of socialists in America–and then became the national network we know today. Below, Kim Fellner and Michael Lighty salute an incredible artist and comrade we already miss. Union Leader True to his Roots By Kim Fellner Asner and Kim Fellner at an American Federation of Labor convention.
The Supreme Court Has Upheld the ACA. The Next Frontier? Medicare for All.
As Americans who have accessed health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday after a 7 – 2 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld the law for a third time, progressive politicians and campaigners set their sights on a more ambitious goal: Medicare for All. “The court’s decision to not overturn the ACA and throw 31 million Americans off their healthcare is welcome. But it’s not enough,” tweeted Sen.
Bernie Is Right. We Should Immediately Expand and Improve Medicare.
We’ve reached a critical point in the campaign to win Medicare for All. For the first time in a decade, the decisive health care question is on the table in Congress: Should we continue with the commercial health insurance system, or should we improve and expand Medicare?
How to Win Medicare for All Under President Biden
The Democratic Party platform now states clearly that “we fundamentally believe health care is a right for all, not a privilege for the few.” And following the Senate races in Georgia, Democrats will now take control of both houses of Congress along with the presidency. So the question is, now that they will hold power, how will the party reform healthcare?
Rest in Power, Harry Britt
On June 24, queer socialists lost a pioneer — Harry Britt in San Francisco at the age of eighty-two, following two years of declining health. A founding member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and a gay socialist, Harry succeeded Harvey Milk on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors following his assassination in 1979. Harry embraced his identity as a gay socialist.
Remembering Harry Britt
June 29, 2020 by Michael Lighty Last week, In the midst of Pride, we lost a queer socialist pioneer, former San Francisco Supervisor Harry Britt, . Harry was a personal mentor to me and carried on the legacy of Harvey Milk for a generation of LGBTQ activists. Harry gained prominence as a gay leader after being appointed by then-mayor now U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein to take over for the slain Harvey Milk, and Harry always identified as a socialist.
Medicare for All Goes to the Hill
Remarkably, the real legislative fight to win Medicare for All is just beginning. With a hearing today, the Ways and Means Committee of the US House is the first congressional committee to consider Medicare for All that has primary policy and funding jurisdiction. Witnesses will include Rebecca Wood, who spoke in 2017 at the introduction of Sen.
Nothing Less Than Improved Medicare for All
Unimaginably, the lows go lower. In Texas, Laura Maradiaga, an 11-year-old girl who fled death threats in El Salvador with her terrified family, may be deported by herself thanks to an immigration court error, a pointless government shutdown, and the prevailing cruelty of the regime. Are we great yet? Nope, says Houston's police chief, who is as appalled as the rest of us. "Family values? American values? Judeo-Christian values?" he wrote. "The Nazis enforced their laws as well."
Medicare for America
With so much written about the politics and some about the policy of Medicare for All, it seems we’re having a real debate about the key issues. But appearances deceive. Instead, it’s more of a struggle over the semantics of “Medicare” – #M4A - is it for America or is it for All? Proponents of “Medicare for America,” the latest talking point elevated to policy – “you can keep your private insurance!” - claim that it provides universal coverage, and thus insures everyone has healthcare.
Medicare For All - I Like It! How Do We Pay for It?
Courtesy of the Sanders Institute. Medicare for All rally, Feb. 2017, Los Angeles, CA. Molly Adams Sanders Institute Fellows Robert Pollin and Michael Lighty discuss the findings from Robert Pollin’s recent study, Economic Analysis of Medicare for All at the Sanders Institute Gathering. Pollin and his co-authors find that “on balance you have a system that delivers decent high-quality health care for everybody.
Medicare For All - I like it! How do we pay for it?
by Robert Pollin , Michael Lighty Sanders Institute Fellows Robert Pollin and Michael Lighty discuss the findings from Robert Pollin’s recent study, Economic Analysis of Medicare for All at the Sanders Institute Gathering. Pollin and his co-authors find that “on balance you have a system that delivers decent high-quality health care for everybody. Nobody ever has to worry, nobody has to go bankrupt, nobody has to fear about not being able to get care.
There’s No Deferring Medicare for All
I have a request for the pundits, editorial boards, and especially politicians, seemingly sympathetic to Medicare for All, but who dwell on its supposed infeasibility and limitations: please take a time out. When it comes to seeking universal health care in the United States since the 1940s (decades behind Germany even then), we have literally tried everything except what is popular and works: Medicare for All. So let’s do what everybody benefits from, on behalf of everybody.
Concerning Medicare for All, It's Not a Time for "Can't"
I have a request for the pundits, editorial boards, and especially politicians, seemingly sympathetic to Medicare for All, but who dwell on it's supposed infeasibility and limitations: please take a time out. When it comes to seeking universal healthcare in the U.S. since the 1940's (decades behind Germany even then), we have literally tried everything except what is popular and works: Medicare for All. So let's do what everybody benefits from, on behalf of everybody.
Stop Trying to Redefine Medicare for All
A strange phenomenon has appeared in the US debate over universal health care: a big majority favors a well-known reform—Medicare for All — as the pundits, insurance and pharma lobbyists, and political insiders denied it (since 1992!), then since 2016 opposed it and all of sudden want to redefine it.
Now That Everybody Is for Medicare for All, Opponents Say Let’s Dilute It
A strange phenomena has appeared in the US debate over universal healthcare: a big majority favors a well-known reform—Medicare for All—as the pundits, insurance and pharma lobbyists, and political insiders denied it (since 1992!), then since 2016 opposed it and all of sudden want to re-define it.
$3.5 Trillion on Healthcare Each Year and We’re Still Uninsured, Underinsured, and Unhappy
It’s time for a reality check when it comes to universal healthcare. Usually, that means those with an idealistic vision of equity and justice must give it up in favor a more achievable program. But in this case, the reality of what’s achievable exceeds the low expectations and compromises that have for decades limited the healthcare reform debate.
Trump's attacks on Medicare for All hint at its popularity. Here's why he needn't be worried.
The White House is suddenly interested in Medicare for All. In the weeks leading up to the midterms, Trump’s administration has launched a series of attacks against the policy, including a rare presidential op-ed in USA Today filled with easily debunked lies. On Oct.
It’s time to get profits out of health care
Now we know the numbers on Iowa’s experiment with for-profit Medicaid. Not surprisingly, costs went up faster per participant than in the pre-reform period, regardless of Gov. Reynolds' spin. Private insurers are profiting at taxpayer expense. But that’s how the health care system is gamed. We pay tax subsidies to employers and individuals for our health insurance so then we can “afford” to give insurance companies 20 cents (or more) on the dollar. What do they do in return?
10 Questions About Healthcare, Answered | The Sanders Institute
As the healthcare debate goes on, misinformation continues to spiral out of control on social media threads and in the mainstream media. By now, we’ve all heard the talking points, and it can be incredibly difficult to differentiate the facts from the hype: "Don't other countries with single payer experience really long wait times?" "Why should we expand Medicare?
Can Medicare for All Be the Next $15 an Hour? It’s Up To the Labor Movement.
Healthcare is the crossroads where the assault on workers meets the juggernaut of “crony capitalism.” That’s the term used by the mainstream neo-classical and Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton to describe the coziness between the healthcare industry and its government “regulators.” In fact, Deaton argues, how healthcare is financed and delivered is a driver of inequality.
A Labor-Based Movement For Medicare for All | The Sanders Institute
Healthcare is the crossroads where the assault on workers meets the juggernaut of “crony capitalism.” That’s the term used by the mainstream neo-classical and Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton to describe the coziness between the healthcare industry and its government “regulators.” In fact, Deaton argues, how healthcare is financed and delivered is a driver of inequality.
A Labor-Based Movement For Medicare for All
Healthcare is the crossroads where the assault on workers meets the juggernaut of “crony capitalism.” That’s the term used by the mainstream neo-classical and Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton to describe the coziness between the healthcare industry and its government “regulators.” In fact, Deaton argues, how healthcare is financed and delivered is a driver of inequality.
Stop Trying to Redefine Medicare for All
A strange phenomenon has appeared in the US debate over universal health care: a big majority favors a well-known reform—Medicare for All — as the pundits, insurance and pharma lobbyists, and political insiders denied it (since 1992!), then since 2016 opposed it and all of sudden want to redefine it.
Nurses: Paul Krugman Offers 'Shallow Political Advice' When It Comes to Health Care
Nurses: Paul Krugman Offers 'Shallow Political Advice' When It Comes to Health Care With the explosive growth of the movement for single payer healthcare, it should not be a surprise to see the Empire Strikes Back. In the name of political reality, some liberal pundits, politicians and policy wonks are scolding progressives to give up on Medicare for All. There are many ways to achieve “universal coverage,� we’re told. “Overhauling�
Liberals Strike Back... Against Single Payer
With the explosive growth of the movement for single payer healthcare, it should not be a surprise to see the Empire Strike Back. In the name of political reality, some liberal pundits, politicians and policy wonks are scolding progressives to give up on Medicare for All. There are many ways to achieve "universal coverage," we're told. "Overhauling" the entire system is too hard, healthcare is too big a part of the economy, and politicians will not take out the health insurance companies.
Michael Lighty explains the waiver process proposed for a California single payer system
Skeptics of SB 562, the California single-payer bill, latch onto the question of obtaining federal waivers to help fund the new Healthy California Trust Fund, an independent public authority created by SB562 that will guarantee healthcare to all Californians thru single-payer financing. But these skeptics fail to recognize the political, statutory and legal paths available to ensure the new system receives all the federal funds for which Californians are eligible.
Perspective: Why Now Is The Time For California To Embrace Single-payer Health Care
Here we go again with national health care reform. But given the large gap between policies favored by Californians and those of the GOP in Washington, D.C., there is every reason for the Golden State to chart it’s own health care course. After all, the ACA was a compromise developed to satisfy conservative Democrats from red states and reach agreement with insurers. State Senator Ricardo Lara has introduced Senate Bill 562, in order for California to set its own course and “to lead,” as he put it.
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