Many politicians and pundits oppose “Medicare for All,” or M4A, because they say Americans are “happy” with their employer-provided private insurance. Recent surveys have shown that a large portion of those workers have huge gaps in their coverage, causing them to skip or delay treatment because of cost. It’s hard to find a single example of a worker or union-negotiated health plan that can match the great benefits and a nationwide network of doctors and hospitals that are currently in both M4A bills.

Private health insurance adds little value to workers’ health care. Private insurance drowns us in confusing complexity, causing excessive and costly paperwork. Plus, many small businesses are being crushed by insurance costs themselves.

M4A could relieve employers who currently spend huge amounts on health care to instead offer much-needed wage increases to their employees. It would provide a pathway to recover sunken wages from earlier negotiations.

What workers loathe worse than their insurance company is the fear of going without insurance. Opponents of M4A capitalize on this misleading fear and have turned it into a mythical love affair with private insurance. Both M4A bills have either a two- or four-year transition period, where certain people would be immediately covered but no one would lose their insurance. Before you vote, remember that M4A means never losing your comprehensive health care. The sooner we can work on it, the faster we can prevent the suffering, unnecessary deaths and financial ruin imposed by the current system.

Jan Phillips

Durango, Colorado