Public Citizen Statement for House Budget Hearing on Single-Payer Health Care

Statement Submitted for the Record, May 22, 2019

By Eagan Kemp

Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record on this crucial issue. And thank you for holding this important hearing on single-payer health care. Public Citizen is a national non-profit organization with more than 500,000 members and supporters. We represent the public interest through legislative and administrative advocacy, litigation, research, and public education on a broad range of issues including ensuring access to health care. Pertinent to this hearing, Public Citizen has supported the creation of a single-payer health care system since our founding in 1971. Our health care system currently fails to meet the needs of the American people, while a single-payer Medicare for All system would guarantee coverage to everyone in the United States.

The recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System, identified a number of key policy considerations when designing and implementing a single-payer health care system.1 In this statement, I describe relevant findings and how Medicare for All would address the components described in the CBO report.

Read the full statement: Eagan Kemp Statement for the Record – House Budget Committee – May 22 2019