Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., unveiled a new “Medicare for All” PAC Wednesday that would back candidates who support a “Medicare for All” program to insure all Americans through Medicare, the federal healthcare program for seniors.
“American families are hurting and public officials need to do better, because no family should be one healthcare crisis away from bankruptcy or a lifetime of paying off medical debt. Insurance companies, drug manufacturers and special interest groups have been standing in the way of real progress for too long — it’s time we fought back,” Jayapal said in a statement.
Jayapal described the PAC as a “grass-roots movement committed to supporting candidates and initiatives around the country” in a video released from NowThis News.
Exclusive: Rep. Pramila Jayapal is launching a new Medicare for all PAC to fund candidates, initiatives and new research pic.twitter.com/w1HIRpTq6D
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 12, 2018
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,first introduced the Medicare for All Act in September 2017 to enroll all Americans in the federal healthcare program, abandoning employer-provided insurance.
A Reuters poll from last month revealed more than 70 percent of Americans are in favor of a “Medicare for All” policy, including nearly 52 percent of Republicans.
“Medicare for All” has gained popularity among Democratic candidates for the 2018 midterms, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a primary race in June.
