Residents Applaud Princeton Council Approval of Resolution Supporting Medicare for All

Princeton Grows List of Localities Demanding Guaranteed Health Care for All

PRINCETON, New Jersey –  Princeton Council passed a resolution in support of the Medicare for All Act of 2021.

Princeton is the 8th New Jersey locality to make Medicare for All a priority. Council members, organizers and residents of Princeton are calling on our Congressional delegation to put an end to our for-profit healthcare system characterized by unnecessary deaths, medical bankruptcies and GoFundMe fundraisers to pay for medical care.

The Medicare for All Act of 2021 is transformative legislation that guarantees health care to everyone in America as a human right. During a pandemic in which nearly 100 million people are uninsured or underinsured, the Medicare for All Act of 2021 builds upon and expands Medicare to provide comprehensive benefits to every person in the United States without copays, private insurance premiums, deductibles, or other cost sharing.

“I strongly approve the Princeton Mayor and Council adopting the Medicare For All resolution. A report issued in 2021 estimates that about 1/3 of US Covid-deaths would have been avoided if the US had universal healthcare. With Medicare For All, every American will have medical care, and families, nonprofits and state & local governments, including school boards, will no longer be burdened by rising health insurance premiums. Congratulations to the Mayor and Council joining seven other New Jersey municipalities in adopting this Resolution,” said community member Dosier Hammond.

Our Revolution Trenton-Mercer member Faris Zwirahn added: “If COVID-19 has proven anything, it is that employer-based healthcare is not only costly and ineffective, but also creates social and racial disparities. In 2019, the number of uninsured residents of New Jersey was approximately 700,000. Additionally, in 2019, Americans on average spent $11,000 on healthcare, which is at least twice as much compared to other Western industrial nations. These stats show the importance of Medicare for All in the United States.”

The resolution is one of 60 that have been passed nationally in 2019 – 2021. The effort is being organized by nationwide organizations including Public Citizen and Our Revolution. The effort to pass the Resolution in Princeton was led by Our Revolution Trenton-Mercer.