Rob Delaney talks Medicare for All with Democratic Socialists of America

In the build up to the British National Health Service's 70th anniversary, writer, actor and comedian Rob Delaney will share a powerful message for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): that it is time for a federal single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system that is comprehensive, free at the point of service, and covers everyone regardless of immigration status.

https://medicareforall.dsausa.org/blog/rob-delaney-talks-medicare-for-all-with-dsa

Delaney is an American citizen now living in London with his wife and two children. He's an active member of DSA, the largest socialist organization in the United States. While he's widely known as the co-star and co-writer of the TV show Catastrophe, and recently starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2, he is also an outspoken democratic socialist with a deeply personal connection to the Medicare for All movement.

Earlier this year, while living in London, Delaney's 2-year-old son, Henry, died of brain cancer. He describes how his family endured horrible grief and sorrow, but thanks to the British National Health Service (NHS) they never had to worry about debilitating medical bills that financially ruin many American families.

"While we endured stress that was truly unbelievable, we didn't endure the financial stress of wondering, 'Are we going to be able to pay for this?'" Delaney explains. "There's nothing more certain than the fact that you're going to need medical care of some kind or another, and you should be able to have it. And the United States of America can afford it. What we can't afford is the system we have now."

Democratic Socialists for Medicare for All is a campaign organized and paid for by DSA. The campaign works to organize grassroots support for Medicare for All through regular canvassing campaigns, hosting panels and town halls across the country to educate about the program, and supporting legislation such as the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act (H.R. 676), and the Medicare for All Act of 2017 (S.1804). More than 100 DSA chapters are actively campaigning for single-payer Medicare for All.

The release of the video comes just in time for the 70th anniversary of the NHS, which was formed July 5, 1948. It was the first health care system in the world to provide free medical care to the entire population, and it was also the first to provide comprehensive care on the basis of general taxation rather than insurance. The formation of the system is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century for the working class.