As millions are stripped of health coverage amid Covid-19, House Dems unveil bill for emergency

expansion of Medicare and Medicaid

Published 2 hours ago on May 1, 2020
By Common Dreams

“Our nation’s for-profit, employment-based healthcare system did not make sense before Covid-19 struck, and it is proving dangerous and deadly during the crisis.”

Just a day after the U.S. Labor Department announced that more than 30 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March, over 30 House Democrats came together to introduce legislation that would guarantee healthcare coverage to all Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement announcing the Medicare Crisis Program Act, lead sponsors Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) slammed the U.S. healthcare system and pointed out that an estimated 35 million people could end up uninsured amid the public health crisis.

“Our nation’s for-profit, employment-based healthcare system did not make sense before Covid-19 struck, and it is proving dangerous and deadly during the crisis,” declared Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and lead House sponsor another coronavirus-related healthcare bill unveiled with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in April.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/as-millions-are-stripped-of-health-coverage-amid-covid-19-house-dems-unveil-bill-for-emergency-expansion-of-medicare-and-medicaid/