Bernie Sanders

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In: Bernie Sanders, Health Care Reform, Home, Single Payer

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

These are exciting times for those of us who believe healthcare is a basic need for every person, and no one should go bankrupt because they had the bad luck to get sick.

Healthcare was the number one issue for voters in November. Candidates across the country ran and won on a platform of Medicare for All. Prospective 2020 presidential candidates are signaling their support. Public opinion polls consistently show a majority of Americans – including a majority of Republicans, according to this poll – support Medicare for All.

MNA nurses and many of your fellow front-line healthcare professionals have long supported moving to a system that:

  • guarantees healthcare (not insurance) for every American, including prescriptions, dental and vision;
  • costs far less for Americans than they’re currently paying in premiums, deductibles, and co-pays;
  • makes the system simpler for patients and providers and lets people focus on their health instead of their bills.

    • … Read more about: Medicare for All Bill Lives Again!  »

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In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home, Keith Ellison, Legislative Policy, Nurses, Single Payer

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

 

Single payer (aka Medicare for All or guaranteed healthcare) is so hot right now.

Bernie Sanders raised the profile in the 2016 campaign; then Trump and GOP proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act pushed even more people to the conclusion that healthcare is a basic need for all Americans.

The term “single payer” isn’t very descriptive, and it leaves room for a lot of confusion. Minnesota Senator John Marty says it best, “when someone asks you what kind of new car you bought, you don’t answer “dealer financed!”

So let’s define it: guaranteed healthcare (not insurance) for every American, including dental and vision.
… Read more about: Single Payer is So Hot Right Now.  »

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In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home, Politics, Single Payer

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

 

The last few weeks in healthcare justice advocacy have been like nothing I’ve ever seen in my whole career. If you had asked me six or eight months ago, “do you think Single Payer healthcare will be having a renaissance in the United States in 2017?” I would have laughed at you.

The debate over repealing the Affordable Care Act laid bare the GOP’s real attitude toward healthcare: “if you can’t afford your medical bills, it’s your fault;” “American lives aren’t worth as much as tax cuts for the wealthy.” It was clear they had no solutions to the problems Americans really have with healthcare, such as the skyrocketing premiums, high deductibles, and the stranglehold insurance companies have over our healthcare decisions.
… Read more about: Is it finally time for Single Payer?  »

People's Summit

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In: Action, Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home

By Jon Tollefson

MNA Government Relations Specialist

Much has been made of a conference that former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Senators hosted in Chicago last month. The New York Times and Washington Post both covered it (among a reported 180 news outlets) and both asked whether the Democratic Party is facing a split following the 2016 campaign. But the evidence doesn’t point that way.

 

The People’s Summit centered on the future of the progressive movement and how we can win elections. The main theme, as stated by Senator Sanders, was that “People are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics,” noting that our lives will not get better by keeping the establishment in power.
… Read more about: Are Democrats Facing a Party Split or a Leadership Vacuum?  »

Peoples Summit

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In: Bernie Sanders, Home, Legislative Policy, Organizing, Politics

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

This past June 9 – 11, more than 4,000 of my closest friends and strongest allies (nurses, community members, Bernie supporters, environmentalists, activists, and big-name speakers) got together to collaborate, plan, share ideas and strategies, and generally be inspired by one another. Here are my top ten favorite moments from the People’s Summit in Chicago that will maybe inspire more to come next year!

  1. Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner. Wow! Nina Turner is my hero! Nina had several speaking opportunities on stage, but, hands-down, the highlight was her Sunday morning talk titled, “Wake-up for Justice.” Nina, in a dress and tennis shoes, worked the crowd, roaming up and down the aisles as she talked about the movement moment we are in while drawing connections to the American Revolution and the Civil Rights movement.

    2. … Read more about: Top Ten Highlights from the People’s Summit in Chicago  »

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In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Nurses, Robin Hood Tax, Single Payer

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

This June 9 – 11, several thousand progressive activists from across the country will gather in Chicago for the People’s Summit 2.0. It’s a multi-organizational, multi-racial, multi-issue conference, co-hosted by the National Nurses United. The event goals are to form a broad coalition committed to building a people’s movement united around social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.

MNA members are invited to attend, and those who haven’t been to an event like this before are the perfect candidate. These events feature high-powered speeches by progressive leaders that will leave participants fired up to get involved.
… Read more about: The People’s Summit 2.0  »

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In: Bernie Sanders, Home, Hospitals, Insurance, Labor Unions, Nurses

By Rick Fuentes

MNA Communications Specialist

There’s been a lot of scare tactics lately about the Cadillac Tax. Recently, one of the big Twin Cities hospital chains even produced a video for its employees where a cartoon employee drives her old Cadillac into a car dealer to get a newer, cheaper car. Make no mistake, however, the Cadillac Tax isn’t about to run over middle-class workers. At least not yet.

The “Cadillac Tax” or excise tax is part of the Affordable Care Act, which set a 40 percent tax on insurance plans valued over $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for families.
… Read more about: The Truth About the Cadillac Tax  »

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In: Bernie Sanders, Home, Insurance, Labor Unions, Nurses, Politics, Uncategorized

021216_Bernie_MN-7194 (1)

By Geri Katz

Single Payer Healthcare Specialist

 

Caring, compassion, and community. These are the values at the heart of registered nursing. National Nurses United, which represents some 190,000 nurses nationwide, seeks to uphold that positive vision for the health of this country by endorsing Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for president.

Senator Sanders was the only candidate to score 100 percent on NNU’s issue questionnaire: he’s the only candidate with us on safe and quality nurse staffing, universal healthcare or Medicare for all, and a fee on Wall Street speculation or the “Robin Hood Tax.” His campaign is exceeding expectations at nearly every turn.
… Read more about: Nurses4Bernie Get Out to Caucus  »

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In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Elections, Home, Nurses

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders stopped by a reception to speak to Registered Nurse Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.  Hundreds of MNA members have organized “Nurses4Bernie” rallies in Minnesota and Iowa to drum up support for the Democratic Presidential candidate.  After the event, Sanders spoke at the Humphrey-Mondale fundraiser dinner in St. Paul, Minnesota.
… Read more about: Video: Bernie Sanders Speaks to Minnesota Nurses Association Members  »

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In: Bernie Sanders, Home

(St. Paul) – February 12, 2016 – Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told Minnesota Nurses Association members the healthcare system doesn’t allow them to do their job. The Vermont Senator spoke at a private reception on Friday afternoon before attending the Humphrey-Mondale Dinner in St. Paul.

“When 29 million people have no health insurance, when many people have high deductibles and high co-payments, when we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, you cannot do the job you are trained and dedicated to do,” Sanders said to the crowd of more than 80 nurses.

Many of these MNA members have held “Nurses4Bernie” events in Minnesota and Iowa to raise support for the only candidate who supports a Single Payer initiative.
… Read more about: Press Release: Bernie Sanders Speaks at Minnesota Nurses Association Event  »