Press Release: 4/17/2026
SOLVING THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS: A SINGLE PAYER MODEL FOR MASSACHUSETTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ellen Israel, 617-637-8899
A Virtual Forum, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 7:00-8:30 PM
The press is invited. Please register.
The 10th Middlesex Hub of Mass-Care: the Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care is holding a virtual public forum on April 29 where Massachusetts political leaders, health care providers and Medicare for All advocates will explain how Medicare for All/Single Payer Health Care can solve our current health care crisis. Mass-Care is a coalition of over 110 member organizations advocating for a universal, single payer health care system in Massachusetts.
The current health care system in Massachusetts is in real trouble. Health care costs continue to balloon, far exceeding growth in wages, income, and inflation, and placing an unsustainable burden on residents, employers, and cities and towns. Total health care costs in Massachusetts, as measured by the Center for Health Information and Analysis, surged 8.6% in 2023 and another 5.7% in 2024, reaching over $83.3 billion, far exceeding the 3.6% annual benchmark goal set by the State. Mass-Care’s economists include more health care costs than CHIA and estimate total spending at $128.6 billion in 2026.
More than 40% of Massachusetts residents struggle to pay for health care while access to care declines. More than half of Massachusetts hospitals are operating in the red. With looming Federal cutbacks, over 200,000 people are likely to lose their health insurance and more community hospitals are likely to close. Premiums for insurance will increase two and three fold.
An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts, currently bills H.1405 and S.860 on Beacon Hill, would address all of these problems. The Act would implement a single payer trust fund, eliminating health care insurance companies as brokers, and pay for comprehensive medical care including dental, vision, hearing, and long term care for all age groups while saving the Massachusetts economy over $30 billion a year. See Economic Analysis.
Please join us on April 29 to hear how the Act would provide a more sustainable, cost-effective, compassionate and equitable health care system for all Massachusetts residents. Speakers will be: Congressmen Jim McGovern (CD2, Central and Western Mass.); Dr. Gordon Schiff, Assistant Associate Dir., Center for Patient Safety and Health and Professor, Harvard Medical School; Heather Clark, co-founder of South Shore Medicare for All; and Jon Weissman, Legislation Chair, Mass-Care Board. Newton City Councilor Alison Leary will facilitate.