Media Contact
Pete Thomson
Chief Communications Officer
American Medical Student Association
Email: [email protected]
AMSA Denounces Tax Plan, Endorses #RightToHealth: Improved Medicare for All Week of Action
STERLING, Virginia— December 4, 2017 – Today, the American Medical Student Association supports the #RightToHealth: Improved Medicare for All National Student Week of Action by Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP), the medical student arm of Physicians for a National Health Program. This occurs in the wake of the Senate’s passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that has significant impacts on health care by repealing the Affordable Care Act individual mandate, which could cause millions of healthy people to leave the individual market, leaving behind a sicker, more expensive insurance pool.
The week is dedicated to advocating for Senate Bill 1804, the Medicare for All Act of 2017, while also recognizing the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, signed on December 10, 1948, which affirms: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services.”
Vanessa Van Doren, an AMSA member, fourth-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and National Board Representative of SNaHP, explains: “I’m joining the #RightToHealth Week of Action because I believe it’s fundamentally wrong that some people live shorter, sicker lives simply because they can’t afford health care. As a medical student in Cleveland, Ohio, I witness the consequences of lack of access to health care every single day.”
According to the Congressional Budget Office, 28 million people in the U.S. remain uninsured under current law—a number projected to rise to 41 million under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “Our senators are supposed to represent all of us, yet millions of Americans have no health insurance at all,” Van Doren continues. “That’s why I’m calling on my senator, Sherrod Brown, to join 17 other leaders in the Senate in co-sponsoring S. 1804, the Medicare for All Act of 2017.”
AMSA firmly believes that access to comprehensive health care must be recognized and upheld as a fundamental human right. We support a publicly and progressively financed, privately delivered single-payer system that ensures high-quality, affordable health care for all. Our partners at Students for a National Health Program have compiled a toolkit with actionable steps and resources to help individuals engage their elected officials and advocate for the Medicare for All Act of 2017.
About the American Medical Student Association:
AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online.
###