U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell joined fellow Representative Pramila Jayapal and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to introduce a "Medicare for All" bill. This bill is personal for the congresswoman from Michigan’s Sixth District.
The bill is co-sponsored by more than half of the Democratic caucus and would expand Medicare to provide healthcare to everyone in the country. It would include primary care, vision, dental, prescription coverage and mental health and substance abuse treatments.
The Ann Arbor Democrat's late husband, John Dingell, had introduced a single-payer healthcare plan in every session of his nearly six-decade long stay in Congress.
“I made a commitment to him that I was going to get this over the finish line. I just hear countless stories every day from people that can’t afford their medicine, won’t get a mammogram because if they were to find a lump they couldn't afford to do anything about it.”
According to the most recent data from 2021, approximately 18,000 residents in Washtenaw County are uninsured. There are concerns that with many pandemic-era assistance programs ending, that number could increase.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
