A New Single-Payer Effort Is Underway in Georgia
With Bernie Sanders no longer leading the charge, Medicare for All has slipped from the spotlight. But a new state-level single-payer bill in Georgia — where Republicans refused to expand Medicaid and 1.2 million people are uninsured — shows signs of life.
A new Georgia bill would create a single-payer health system covering every resident. Sponsor Gabriel Sanchez is reviving a fight that 1990s reformers waged in the same statehouse — and arguing that the South can lead the movement. (Carol Lee Rose / Getty Images for Community Change Action)
On a Sunday afternoon in April, Atlanta residents gathered at St Paul’s Episcopal Church to discuss their alarm about the American health care system and what they could do about it. Attendants ranged widely in age, but they were united in their concern over the ballooning costs of medical treatment and the increasing inadequacy of insurance coverage.
Dr Belinda McIntosh, a psychiatrist at Grady Hospital and a member of Georgians for a Universal Health Program, opened the forum by taking the collective temperature of the room to see how sick people were of the country’s inefficient and profit-driven health care system.
“Anyone in here maybe saw a doctor or wanted to see a doctor and had a difficult time figuring that out because of in-network restrictions?” asked McIntosh. A few people raised their hands.
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