Home > Legislative Issues

Access to Health Care

Every other industrialized nation in the world provides universal health care to its citizens. Under the complicated, employer-based American system, average health care spending per person is double what Europeans spend - and many people still have no coverage. Over 70 percent of uninsured Americans are in families where at least one adult works full time. Congressman McDermott believes the U.S. should guarantee health care to every American through universal, single-payer health care. His proposal, HR 1200, the American Health Security Act, would provide care for every American, control costs, and enhance the quality of the health care system. The Congressional Budget Office reported that most Americans would pay less for health care under this plan than they pay now. Congressman McDermott is also committed to finding interim solutions to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance, and has worked to expand SCHIP benefits for uninsured children, to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare and for adequate Medicaid funding.

Click here to learn more about HR 1200
McDermott's legislation that provides for health care for every American and controls costs and enhances the quality of the health care system.

Related press release and speeches

• U.S. Auto Industry Supports Universal Healthcare... in Canada
• You're at the Bedside, Make a Diagnosis, Give Us Your Ideas
• Universal Coverage is Inevitable
• Time to Provide Health Care for All Americans