Mayor Durkan signs resolution in support of Jayapal’s ‘Medicare For All’ bill
Mar 15, 2019, 8:02 AM
(Mayor Jenny Durkan, Twitter)
(Mayor Jenny Durkan, Twitter)
Seattle became the first city to formally support Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All measure, after Mayor Jenny Durkan signed a resolution Tuesday passed by city council.
RELATED: ‘Medicare for All’ bill introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal
“With this resolution, the city of Seattle sends a clear message to the other Washington that it is time for Medicare for All,” said Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez, the resolution’s original sponsor.
Earlier this morning, @MayorJenny signed my #MedicareForAll resolution. Thank you @repjayapal for leading this effort in #Congress. Here is why I support #MedicareForAll: pic.twitter.com/A5oaLdD3VQ
— Councilmember M. Lorena González (@CMLGonzalez) March 13, 2019
The Medicare for All Act is a proposal for single-payer health care, which is government funded. The Seattle Times previously reported that Jayapal’s plan is “more ambitious in scope” than previous, similar bills. The bill has 107 co-sponsors. It proposes services to be covered such as primary care, dental, eye care, mental health, prescription drugs, reproductive health, and substance abuse care.
“Rep. Jayapal is a leader on this issue, and she’s also my representative and my constituent,” Councilmember Gonzalez said. “I am proud to support our Congresswoman’s bill and I’m excited to offer Seattleites a chance to support Rep. Jayapal’s bill, which now has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.”
Health care has been discussed on a larger, statewide scale since the new legislative session kicked off in Olympia at the beginning of the year.
RELATED: New universal healthcare proposal for Washington state
In early-January, Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his proposal for “Cascade Care,” an attempt to to fight back against attacks on the Affordable Care Act occurring at a national level.
In the legislature, a pair of bills were introduced in 2019. The first would task a work group to “study and make recommendations to the Legislature on a universal health care system, that includes publicly funded, privately delivered health care that is sustainable and affordable to all Washington residents.”
The second would establish a nine-member board of trustees appointed by the governor. The bill requires that the trust provide “minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.” Residents with incomes under 200 percent of the federal poverty level would not be subject to any premiums, which would not be more than $200 a month.
