Medical Student National Actions For ‘Medicare For All’

Above photo: Members of the non-profit organization Physicians for a National Health Program rally in Chicago, outside Blue Cross Blue Shield, on April 12, 2014. They’re pushing for a nationwide single-payer health care system.

Citing the persistence of thousands of preventable deaths each year due to lack of health insurance, students at more than 25 medical schools will hold teach-ins, rallies and candlelight vigils on Oct. 1 ( #TenOne ) to bring national attention to ‘our failing health care system’ and the need for single-payer health reform.



United States – Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP) – working in coalition with the American Medical Student Association, WhiteCoats4BlackLives, the Latino Medical Student Association, Universities Allied for Essential Medicine, and Pre-Health Dreamers – will hold teach-ins, rallies, and candlelight vigils to remember the millions of people in our country who remain uninsured, underinsured and underserved by our current health care system. We will also underscore the need for a more fundamental health reform – a nonprofit, publicly financed, single-payer health system.

The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not guarantee universal health care. Unfortunately, the Affordable Care Act is neither universal nor affordable. It will leave 30 million Americans uninsured and tens of millions underinsured, unable to afford needed care. Tens of thousands of people will continue to die every year just because they lack health insurance. Medical problems are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., and research shows nearly 80 percent of those declaring bankruptcy due to medical debt had insurance at the onset of their illness. Our patients need and deserve better.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare. As medical students, part of our mission is to ensure that everyone who needs care gets it. One way to achieve this goal is by improving the Medicare program and expanding it to cover all Americans.

We urge our fellow students and the public to join us for this #TenOne: Medicare-for-All National Day of Action on Thursday, Oct. 1, to bring national attention to our failing health care system and the need for single-payer health reform.

For more of the thinking behind the #TenOne initiative, including patient stories, please read these posts on SNaHP’s official blog by medical students Vanessa Van Doren and Bryant Shuey.

#TenOne Local Events

*Participating campuses and their SNaHP chapter leaders are updated daily.

October 1, 2015 – All are welcome to participate in the following events:

CALIFORNIA

Touro University California: Matthew Musselman [matthew.musselman@tu.edu]

UC Davis School of Medicine: Umer Waris [uawaris@gmail.com], Keyon Mitchell [keyonrmitchell@gmail.com], Callum Rowe [callumjrowe@gmail.com]

FLORIDA

Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine: Timothy Ryan [timoteo.ryan@gmail.com]

ILLINOIS

Chicago Medical Schools Coalition:

UChicago: Scott Goldberg [sgoldberg28@gmail.com];

UIC:Kieran Holzhauer [kholzh2@uic.edu];

Rush Medical College: Jordan_Centers@rush.edu

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine: Jillian Caldwell [jcaldwell49@midwestern.edu]

IOWA

University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine: Lisa Wehr [lisa-wehr@uoiwa.edu]

KENTUCKY

University of Louisville School of Medicine: Brandi Jones [brandi.jones@louisville.edu]

MAINE

University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine: Natasha Neal [nneal@une.edu]

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston University School of Medicine: Andy Hyatt [ashyatt@bu.edu]

MINNESOTA

University of Minnesota Medical School – Duluth: Tim Roos [roosx040@umn.edu]

NEW MEXICO

University of New Mexico School of Medicine: Bryant Shuey [bryantshuey@gmail.com]

NEW YORK

PNHP NY METRO (coordinators): Becca Mahn (becca@pnhpnymetro.org) and Katie Robbins (katie@pnhpnymetro.org)

Albany Medical College: Justin Pegueros [peguerj@mail.amc.edu]

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Tauhid Mahmud [mahmud@mail.einstein.yu.edu] and Dahlia Kenway [kenawy@mail.einstein.yu.edu]

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health: Michael Zingman [maz2127@columbia.edu]

Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai: Alice Shen [alice.shen@icahn.mssm.edu]

New York University School of Medicine: David Wang [david.wang@med.nyu.edu] and David Collins [david.collins@med.nyu.edu]

SUNY Downstate: Keriann Shalvoy [kshalvoy@gmail.com]

OHIO

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine: Vanessa Van Doren [vev5@case.edu]

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia Medical Schools Coalition: Emily Kirchner [emily.kirchner@temple.edu] at Temple; Tony Spadaro [tspadaro50@gmail.com] and Dorothy Charles [dorothy.charles@uphs.upenn.edu] at Penn

TENNESSEE

University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine: Diana Alsbrook [dalsbro2@uthsc.edu]

VERMONT

University of Vermont College of Medicine: Kelsey Sullivan [khammon1@med.uvm.edu]

WASHINGTON

University of Washington School of Medicine: Darius Fullmer [darius.fullmer@gmail.com]

WISCONSIN

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: Sarah Zoutendam [zoutendam@wisc.edu] and Zeeshan Yacoob [yacoob@wisc.edu]

This project was initiated by Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP), the student arm of Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org), an organization of more than 19,000 physicians, health professionals, medical and health professional students who advocate for universal, single-payer, improved Medicare for all.