The Machinists Union remains steadfast that every American has the right to comprehensive health care and strongly supports a Medicare-for-all health care system.
The United States spends more than twice the average per capita on healthcare compared to other developed nations, yet ranks near the bottom in life expectancy and other health outcomes. Our for-profit healthcare system also places U.S. companies at a disadvantage against foreign companies with national healthcare systems that do not have the burden of expensive employer-sponsored healthcare plans.
At nearly every bargaining table, companies remind our members that the burden of rising healthcare costs are eating up more and more of our total compensation. The increasing out-of-pockets costs are putting countless family’s just one medical emergency away from serious financial hardship.
“A single-payer system is the only way affordable way to guarantee affordable healthcare for every American,” said Machinists Union International President Robert Martinez Jr. “It is past time to shift the healthcare burden off of hard-working families by streamlining our healthcare system, instead of padding the pockets of insurance companies. I applaud Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) for her upcoming introduction of the Medicare for All Act of 2019 and encourage every member of Congress to support smart, comprehensive and humane health care policy by cosponsoring this bill.”