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Chicago Passes Medicare for All Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Wednesday March 18, 2026, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution calling on Congress to pass Medicare for All.
The resolution, introduced by Alderwoman Ruth Cruz (Ward 30), expresses support for H.R. 3069, led by U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6), and S. 1506, led by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
The Medicare for All Act is the only healthcare bill in Congress that would guarantee healthcare for everyone living in the United States. 11% of Chicagoans under the age of 65 (257,000 people) have no health insurance.
Now at a record low, only 16 percent of Americans report being satisfied with the total cost of the American health care system.
The same poll also found that 70 percent of Americans, including majorities across the political spectrum, said the health care system was in crisis or had major problems.
At a time when a third of Americans are foregoing essential living expenses in order to cover healthcare and prescription drugs, 65% of polled voters say they support Medicare for All.
Alderwoman Ruth Cruz (Ward 30), who introduced the resolution, said:
“Chicagoans and all Americans suffer from a health care system that is insanely complicated, medically unsound, and ruinously expensive for individuals, businesses, and the nation as a whole. Medicare for All would put actual medical care back at the center of our health care system, leading to better outcomes and lower costs for millions of Americans. Every other developed nation on Earth—and some developing nations as well!—has figured out how to provide universal health coverage to their people. It is long past time for Congress to do the rational, responsible thing and adopt Medicare for All in the United States.”
U.S. Representative (D-IL-4) Chuy Garcia said:
“I am proud to support the Chicago City Council’s resolution calling on federal legislators to work towards swift enactment of the Medicare for All Act. Medicare for All is the right step toward addressing high costs and inequalities in the current system, which particularly affect underserved populations and minorities. My district in Chicago has a 14% uninsurance rate, and many cannot afford healthcare even though they work full time.
“Trump’s cruel spending bill passed in 2025 will leave 10 million more people nationwide without health insurance by 2034, because of changes his bill made to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Passing the Medicare for All Act is more urgent than ever.
“At a time when people are struggling to pay for medications, groceries and gasoline because of President Trump’s policies, Medicare for All will guarantee that all Chicago and other US residents will be fully covered for health care anywhere in the United States, regardless of employment status, marital status, citizenship status, income, age, or geography. We owe it to America. We owe it to the hardworking people in our communities.”
Eagan Kemp, Public Citizen health care policy advocate said:
“What unites these statistics is a simple truth: the fragmentation of our health care system creates instability and inequity for Chicago residents every day.” said Kemp. “Right now, the situation is dire, with the recent actions by the Trump administration and its MAGA allies in Congress to further unravel an already tenuous system that leaves tens of millions of Americans without coverage and even more without adequate coverage. But the federal government already has the capacity and funding to efficiently address this through a universal insurance program. Thankfully, we also have an excellent plan for how to accomplish that in the Medicare for All Act of 2025. This resolution ushers the solution into the spotlight as a key demand for Americans to voice to our government.”
Susan Hurley, the Executive Director of the Illinois Single Payer Coalition, which organized Chicago communities to win Council support:
“Our collective misery, suffering and impoverishment is allowed to happen so that health insurance CEO’s and others in our bloated, corrupt system can make hundreds of millions of dollars. The companies hoard billions in profits. It is monstrous madness to allow this to continue for no other reason than satisfying greed beyond all comprehension at the expense of human lives.”
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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