By Kathleen Malecki, RN
MNA Member
MNA Member
Healthcare reform coalition-building has hit a critical mass milestone in the work of creating a nationwide Healthcare for All (Medicare for All) movement, possibly with an international, intersectional component. “Healthcare-NOW” is ready to launch an army of organized volunteers to challenge the medical-industrial complex across the USA and globally.
This is the long-awaited tipping point. It is time for us to get involved and volunteer to make this happen via deep one-on-one conversations, which are held face-to-face wherever we are with the goal to listen more than talk.
Nurses are good at these conversations. Nurses advocate for patients. It is our professional duty. Now is the time to help ourselves and others to meet this challenge. This is the larger call-to-action we have sought for so long. Let us rise to the challenge of a big solution to a big problem. Let us tackle the root cause of our oppression: unregulated capitalism itself, also known as greed.
Last month, Minneapolis hosted the national Single Payer Strategy conference to kick off this next phase in the campaign for healthcare for all. MNA nurses were there to share the experiences of the work we’re already doing in Minnesota, and to learn more from the organizing happening in other states.
The tactics we learned in the many break-out sessions of the conference are tried and true. They are not difficult. They are an opportunity to heal rifts between polarized groups, marginalized groups, family members, and fellow care-givers; healing rifts between the healthy and those in need of care and treatment. We become better people seeing the real humanity in all other people. We become better stewards of the earth we all inhabit and break down barriers to good health. Love always wins. You are invited.
If you would like to watch any of the inspiring speeches or presentations (including those from our own Congressman Keith Ellison and Representative Erin Murphy), check this website: wiki.healthcare-now.org If you would like to get involved in MNA’s Medicare for All campaign, contact Geri Katz at geri.katz@mnnurses.org.