We, the undersigned, know that poor health outcomes and deaths linked to lack of health insurance are not new to Indianapolis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 100,000 people in Marion County had no health insurance, with many more being underinsured.

As study after study shows, there is a strong correlation between lack of health insurance and food, housing, and income insecurity. As nearly 105,000 Hoosiers lost their jobs between February and December of 2020, these numbers have likely gotten worse.  

After over 1,600 people have died from the COVID-19 coronavirus in Marion County over the last year, we can no longer sit idly by, waiting patiently for the massive changes needed to protect our residents and save lives.

A national single-payer health insurance system such as Medicare for All, as proposed in United States HR 1384, would save tens of thousands of lives while simultaneously saving $300 billion nationwide in healthcare costs.

Medicare for All would also shine a light on what the majority of the developed world has already acknowledged: that healthcare is a human right. This rights-based approach helps protect racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and people of all ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, and backgrounds. Indianapolis’s healthcare systems recently made the national news after Dr. Susan Moore pointed out the racial inequities that led to her own death.   Indianapolis must become a leader in reducing these inequities, and universal healthcare is the first step towards enacting a more just and fair system.

Indianapolis, as the capital of our state, should be leading efforts to protect our citizens, but we are behind several other cities in the state who have already passed Medicare for All resolutions, most recently West Lafayette. It is time for Indianapolis to take a stand on Medicare for All, and we call on the city council to pass a resolution in support of this national legislation.