'It's a Sure Winner--Except for the Profiteers': 200+ Economists Send Letter to Congress Endorsing Medicare for All

Ahead of a historic single-payer hearing at the House Budget Committee on Wednesday, more than 200 economists sent a letter to Congress blasting America's "exorbitant and wasteful" healthcare system and endorsing Medicare for All as the most humane and cost-effective solution.

"America's health system turns our survival over to greedy companies with the market power to set outrageously high prices," Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University and one of the letter's 209 signatories, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Medicare for All will give us a system already proven in other countries: much lower costs with less hassle and worry. It's a sure winner--except for the profiteers."
--Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University

"Medicare for All will give us a system already proven in other countries: much lower costs with less hassle and worry," Sachs said. "It's a sure winner--except for the profiteers."

In their letter (pdf), the economists highlighted the fact that the United States spends far more on healthcare than other industrialized nations while achieving significantly worse results--a crisis they say can be remedied by transitioning to a single-payer system.

"Evidence from around the world demonstrates that publicly financed healthcare systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs, and greater equity," the letter states. "For these reasons the time is now to create a universal, single-payer, Medicare for All healthcare system in the United States."

The economists' endorsement of Medicare for All comes just 24 hours before the House Budget Committee is scheduled to hold just the second-ever congressional hearing on single-payer. The panel will discuss Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-Wash.) Medicare for All Act of 2019, which currently has 108 co-sponsors.

National Nurses United (NNU), which has been leading efforts to build grassroots support for Medicare for All nationwide, urged Americans to call members of the Budget Committee and let them know "we're counting on their support."

"For patients, the effects would be life-changing," NNU president Jean Ross said in a statement Tuesday. "A Medicare for All system would guarantee the care we need throughout our lifetimes and patients would no longer have to deal with debilitating premiums, out-of-pocket costs, hospital bills, and drug costs again."

Read the economists' full letter:

As economists, we understand that a single-payer "Medicare for All" health insurance system for the U.S. can finance good-quality care for all U.S. residents as a basic right while still significantly reducing overall health care spending relative to the current exorbitant and wasteful system. Healthcare is not a service that follows standard market rules. It should therefore be provided as a public good.

Evidence from around the world demonstrates that publicly financed healthcare systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs, and greater equity. As of 2017, the U.S. spent $3.3 trillion annually on healthcare. This equaled 17 percent of U.S. GDP, with average spending at about $10,000 per person. By contrast, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, the U.K., Australia, Spain and Italy spent between 9 - 11 percent of GDP on health care, averaging $3,400 to $5,700 per person. Yet average health outcomes in all of these countries are superior to those in the United States. In all of these countries, the public sector is predominant in financing heath care.

For these reasons the time is now to create a universal, single-payer, Medicare for All health care system in the United States.

Public financing for health is not a matter of raising new money for healthcare, but of reducing total healthcare outlays and distributing payments more equitably and efficiently. Implementing a unified single-payer system would reduce administrative costs and eliminate individuals' and employers' insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. If combined with public control of drug prices and a dramatically simplified global budgeting system, a sensible Medicare financing system would reduce healthcare costs while guaranteeing access to comprehensive care and financial security to all.

As such, we support publicly and equitably financed healthcare through a Medicare for All system at the Federal level, as described in H.R. 1384 and S. 1129. We encourage Congress to move forward with implementing a public financed Medicare for All plan to achieve the equitable and affordable universal healthcare system that the American people need.

Signed,

1. Randy Albelda, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Boston
2. Carolyn B. Aldana, Professor Emeritus, California State University, San Bernardino
3. Mona Ali, Associate Professor of Economics, SUNY New Paltz
4. Larry Allen, Professor of Economics, Lamar University
5. Jack Amariglio, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Merrimack College
6. Eileen Appelbaum, Co-Director and Senior Economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research
7. Peter Arno, Senior Fellow & Director Health Policy Research, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
8. Michael Ash, Professor of Economics & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
9. Glen Atkinson, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Nevada, Reno
10. M V Lee Badgett, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
11. Ron Baiman, Assistant Professor of Economics, Benedictine University
12. Dean Baker, Senior Economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research
13. Radhika Balakrishnan, Professor, Rutgers University
14. Nina Banks, Associate Professor of Economics, Bucknell University
15. David Barkin, Distinguished Professor, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana
16. Charles Barone, Professor Emeritus, Dickinson College
17. Deepankar Basu, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
18. Lourdes Beneria, Professor Emerita, Cornell University
19. Peter H. Bent, Assistant Professor, American University of Paris
20. Suzanne Bergeron, Professor, University of Michigan Dearborn
21. Cyrus Bina, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota (Morris Campus), and Fellow, Economists for Peace and Security
22. Josh Bivens, Research Director, Economic Policy Institute
23. Robert A. Blecker, Professor of Economics, American University
24. Peter Bohmer, Faculty in Economics and Political Economy, The Evergreen State College
25. Howard Botwinick, Associate Professor of Economics, SUNY Cortland
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