National Nurses United and 325+ Organizations Call For Passage of Medicare for All

(Washington, DC) - Today, National Nurses United (NNU) and over 325 organizations, including labor unions, advocates for seniors and people with disabilities, women's rights organizations, and more, released an open letter making the case that now is the time for Medicare for All, addressed to leaders looking to reform our health care system.

The letter is authored by NNU, Public Citizen, People's Action Institute, Social Security Works, Physicians for a National Health Program, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, and Healthcare-NOW. Other signatories include Indivisible, MoveOn, and several prominent labor unions, including UAW, APWU, IFPTE, AFA-CWA, UE, Actors Equity, and more.

"Nurses, doctors, and patients all want one thing: for every person to get the care they need when they need it, without fear of cost or corporations interfering. That is the difference between guaranteed health care through Medicare for All and the so-called public option," said Jamie Brown, RN and NNU president. "At this dangerous moment in history, it's so clear that failing to provide visionary policies that center care and health for working people, instead giving profit to billionaires, has led to the rise of fascism. It's more urgent now than ever before to fight together in solidarity, millions strong, and demand a guaranteed health care system with Medicare for All. "

Medicare for All is overwhelmingly popular and commands majority support nationwide, with 63 percent of all voters in favor, including 90 percent of Democratic voters. In Congress, more than half of the House Democratic Caucus now supports Medicare for All, and Senate legislation has added three cosponsors since the last Congress.

This letter comes at a time when D.C. insiders are urging members of Congress and health care advocates to prioritize small tweaks to our current system. The letter warns that only structural change, Medicare for All, will meet the scale of the health care crisis. As health care costs soar, affordability is top of mind for U.S. families, and it's a particularly important kitchen- table issue ahead of the 2026 midterms. People in the United States need and demand Medicare for All.

The letter reads, in part:

"We may face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to legislate on health care in 2029. We need to rally behind the boldest possible reform, Medicare for All, that brings together the broadest possible movement. Now is not the time for overly complex incremental measures that prop up the same systems we're seeing fail under the weight of attacks by Trump and Republicans. The American people are hungry for bold ideas that will transform fundamental institutions that have failed them for too long. And they are looking for leaders who will take on powerful interests and fight for working people.

Now is the time to organize and inspire! Support for Medicare for All grows daily in our communities and in Congress. It's our best path forward, and it's rooted in real promise: Everybody in, nobody out. A small minority of skeptical health care policy wonks may try to convince us to scale back, that structural change isn't winnable.

The reality is that alternate proposals don't move us towards Medicare for All, complicate our already broken system, and allow corporations to continue profiting off the sick."

Check out the final letter and full list of organizations here.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.