Progressive lawmakers held a shadow hearing this week to make their case for dismantling the current healthcare system and replacing it with a single-payer model. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, led by Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell, brought together doctors, nurses, and policy experts to argue that the status quo is unsustainable.
Dingell opened the hearing with a personal pledge. "I'm going to get this over the finish line before I die, and I don't plan on dying soon," she said, invoking her family's decades-long fight for universal healthcare. Her late husband, John Dingell, introduced Medicare for All legislation repeatedly during his career in Congress, and her father-in-law drafted the original Medicare legislation.
The timing of the hearing comes as momentum builds within Democratic ranks. Over half of the House Democratic caucus has now co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation. Meanwhile, Senator Andy Kim introduced a separate proposal to enroll all children in Medicare until age 26, signaling broader support for expansions of government healthcare programs.
Republicans have moved in the opposite direction. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the GOP, includes nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and allows Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire.
Dingell outlined the core argument for change. The United States spends twice as much per person on healthcare as other developed nations with universal systems, yet leaves 28 million Americans uninsured. The number of uninsured has grown since 2023. Life expectancy lags and infant mortality rates exceed those of peer nations.
"The only people benefiting are the corporations who are profiting while Americans are struggling," she said.
A 2020 Yale epidemiological study found that Medicare for All could save roughly 68,000 lives annually while cutting U.S. healthcare spending by 13 percent, approximately $450 billion.
Dr. Diljeet K Singh, president of Physicians for a National Health Plan, framed the problem in clinical terms. "Every day in my clinic, I see patients struggling with the cost of healthcare," she testified. She noted that at least 35 cents of every healthcare dollar goes to insurance administration and corporate profit rather than patient care.
Jamie Brown, president of National Nurses United, the largest nursing union in the country, described hospitals prioritizing profits over staffing. Understaffed units and high patient loads result in worse health outcomes, she said. "The only way to transform our system for the better is to ensure that the profit motive is completely removed from the equation."
The political landscape around the issue remains complicated. The Searchlight Institute, a center-left think tank, has urged Democrats to avoid endorsing Medicare for All. However, polling data suggests public appetite exists. A June poll by Tavern Research found either a majority or plurality supporting single-payer healthcare. A November poll by the Medicare for All PAC found 52 percent of respondents favored a Democratic candidate supporting the policy over a Republican opposing it. Among Democratic voters specifically, support reached 90 percent.
Representative Greg Casar highlighted the financial interests at stake. Healthcare CEOs earn multimillion-dollar salaries while corporations spend millions on lobbying efforts to block systemic change. These facts underscore why industry resistance to reform remains fierce, he argued.
Other lawmakers connected healthcare access to their lived experience. Representative Raul "Chuy" Garcia noted that millions delay or forgo care because they cannot afford it. Congresswoman Raul Grijalva recounted her family's exposure to toxic contamination and early health crises, then drew a larger conclusion about systemic injustice.
"We must address the underlying causes of this sickness of the system, not just treat the symptoms," Grijalva said. She cataloged the symptoms: the highest out-of-pocket expenses among wealthy nations, the most medical bankruptcies, the worst health outcomes, and preventable deaths concentrated among lower-income Americans, people of color, and rural residents.
Representative Melanie Stansbury made a cost comparison argument. The Trump administration's military operations have cost $37.5 billion so far, she noted, yet critics claim universal healthcare is unaffordable. "There is no person that should die because they're afraid to go to the emergency room," Stansbury said. "That is moral depravity. Healthcare is a human right."
Jayapal closed the hearing by framing the push for Medicare for All as inevitable. "I think this is the moment where the current system has collapsed under the weight of for-profit insurance companies," she said. She acknowledged the fight ahead but expressed confidence that the American public across party lines would ultimately support a system where "everyone is in and nobody is out, and healthcare is truly a human right."
Author James Rodriguez: "The progressive wing is finally organizing around a coherent vision, but the political machinery required to pass this remains daunting."
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