Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth Cosponsors Call on US to pass Medicare for All Act of 2025
Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth has signed on as a cosponsor to a resolution calling on the US to pass the Medicare for All Act of 2025. This call is based on myriad data suggesting:
Significant portions of the population are under or uninsured which causes people to delay seeking care
Refusing to seek care leads to a sicker population, a problem that was underscored by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Our current inequitable healthcare system disproportionately harms people of color and underserved communities
two thirds of Americans support Medicare for All
Read the full resolution below. Follow the resolution’s progress here.
R E S O L U T I O N
Supporting Medicare for All
WHEREAS, our society has a moral obligation to ensure health care for all its people; and
WHEREAS, eleven percent (257,000) of Chicagoans under the age of 65 have no health insurance; and
WHEREAS, despite important gains made through the Affordable Care Act, 43% of working-age adults in the US were inadequately insured in 2023, including 9% who were uninsured, 12% who had a gap in coverage over the past year, and 23% whose coverage did not provide affordable access to health care; and
WHEREAS, the COVID pandemic underscored the weakness and inequality of the US for- profit health care: with under 5% of the world's population, the US suffered 16% of the world's COVID deaths; millions in the US lost their employer sponsored insurance; and people of color in Chicago suffered disproportionately higher rates of infection and mortality—up to 80% higher; and
WHEREAS, the typical non-elderly family in the U.S. spends $5,600 per year out of pocket on health care premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and uncovered care, and federal and state taxes for health programs, placing a substantial financial burden on moderate-income households who do not qualify for Medicaid; and
WHEREAS, many people delay seeking needed health care because they cannot afford the upfront costs, leading to a sicker and poorer population; and
WHEREAS, the ever-increasing costs of health care—including over six hundred million dollars annually to provide health insurance for City of Chicago employees—challenge our already strapped state and municipal budgets; and
WHEREAS, our complex and confusing for-profit health care financing system often results in Chicagoans receiving large, unexpected bills, calls from debt collectors, and in some cases bankruptcy; and
WHEREAS, US healthcare outcomes include glaring racial inequalities that are due in part to the system's unequal and complex access to care; however, in those parts of US healthcare where access is universal, such as Medicare, the VA, and dialysis, health care outcomes for people of color match and even exceed those of Whites; and
WHEREAS, the Medicare for All Act of 2025 (H.R. 3069/S. 1506) will provide national health insurance for every person living in the United States, covering all necessary primary, preventative and medical care; including hospital, surgical, and outpatient services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment; emergency services; reproductive care; dental, hearing and vision care; and long-term care; from birth to death; and
WHEREAS, the Medicare for All Act of 2025 will provide this care without co-pays, deductibles, or other out-of-pocket costs, and will eliminate most prior authorization delays, reduce bureaucracy, protect the doctor-patient relationship, and assure patients a free choice of providers and hospitals; and
WHEREAS, Medicare for All will guarantee that all Chicago and other US residents will be fully covered for health care anywhere in the United States, regardless of employment status, marital status, citizenship status, income, age, or geography; and
WHEREAS, recent polls show that two thirds of Americans support Medicare for All. v Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Chicago City Council, enthusiastically support the Medicare for All Act of 2025 (H.R. 3069 and S. 1506) and call on our federal legislators to work toward its swift enactment to ensure equal access to high-quality health care for all who reside in the United States
