Resources for Organizing for Medicare for All During the COVID-19 Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the failures of our for-profit health care system and has forced so many of us into isolation and uncertainty.

Now, more than ever, we must come together – in whatever way we can – to build community and strategize about how we confront the unique challenges of this moment.

We must first support one another and respond to the immediate needs created by this crisis.

When and where we can, we must also continue to build our movement and make the case for Medicare for All in order to be better able to fight pandemics like this one.

Here are some resources and ideas for continuing to build the movement during this period.

• First and foremost, stay safe and support your loved ones and broader community by practicing social distancing and other measures as recommended by public health experts and participating in local mutual aid initiatives.

• Hold virtual meetings and gatherings with fellow health justice activists in your community during this time of social isolation, to continue to connect with one another, engage in online advocacy to respond to immediate policy needs locally and nationally, and make plans for connecting with local officials when the moment is right.  If you need support with technology to help convene such meetings or want to talk through ideas, send us an email and let us know a good time to give you a call.

• Write a letter to the editor or op-ed to your local paper explaining why the current COVID-19 pandemic exposes the dangers and pitfalls of our current for-profit health care system and tying health insurance to employment as tens of millions potentially face job loss.  Here are some resources you can use as you write:
  • COVID-19/Medicare for All talking points for Letters to the Editor/Op-Eds (feel free to cut and paste)
  • Unprepared for COVID-19: How the Pandemic Makes the Case for Medicare for All (Public Citizen)
  • We Are All In This Together: COVID-19 and the Case for Medicare for All (Congressional Progressive Caucus Center)
  • Fact Sheet: How Would the Response to COVID-19 Differ Under Medicare for All? (Public Citizen)
  • Blog: COVID-19 and the Urgency of Medicare for All (Health Care NOW)
  • Resources: COVID-19 and Medicare for All (Physicians for a National Health Program)
  • Millions of Americans are about to lose their health insurance in a pandemic (Wendell Potter, Business for Medicare for All)

• Share on social media posts and information that make the links between the current response to the crisis and the need for Medicare for All. 
  • Some suggested posts/tweets that you can share

• As our cities and towns emerge from the worst of the crisis, reach out to your city and county council members and ask to discuss with them why COVID-19 crisis highlighted the urgency of transforming our health care system and why now is the time to pass a resolution supporting Medicare for All.  You will be the best judge of what is the most appropriate timing for this in your community. 
  • Sample email request for council members and county commissioners asking for a virtual meeting or phone call
  • We’ve updated our detailed timeline and set of instructions for passing your resolution.
  • Sample COVID-19/Medicare for All local resolution language
  • If you are working by yourself, we may be able to connect you with other supporters in your area.  You can request to have a zoom call with members of your group if social distancing is still required or make a plan for after in-person meetings are again possible.  You can use the talking points and resources provided in this toolkit.

We are in unprecedented times, and it’s never been more evident that we are all in this together. 

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