Seattle Representative Pramila Jayapal, one of Congress’s leading progressives, said Tuesday that support for Medicare for All is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n
Jayapal, the former chair of the Progressive Caucus, said many of her Democratic colleagues are signing on as prices rise and the party is sending a message on affordability, including Representatives Shomari Figures of Alabama, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Sarah Elfreth of Maryland.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth care is still the number one cost concern for Americans,\u201d Jayapal said at the POLITICO Health Care Summit. \u201cYou can’t be made too dependent on health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jayapal pointed to Cuba’s system before President Donald Trump imposed the oil embargo, saying it was better than the US on many measures, including cancer detection.<\/p>\n
Jayapal, who has long promoted universal health care, said her team had reviewed a poll that found an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, 90 percent, support Medicare for All. He said the issue has also become more popular among independent candidates. He said 60 percent of them and 20 percent of Republicans now support it.<\/p>\n
He said voters in swing districts also show less hesitation about moving to a universal, government-run system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis situation we are in is absolutely unacceptable,\u201d Jayapal said, referring to the state of health care. “Americans know they want us to fix this. They don’t want incremental changes.”<\/p>\n