Medicare For All is not just an abstract political policy for me. It is a matter that is essential to my life and is something that is worth fighting for.

During the summer of 2008, I began losing control of my arms. They would just “unplug,” and whatever I was holding would slip from my grasp. My full-time minimum wage job did not offer health care, so I relied on sliding scale fee clinics. This lack of insurance caused me to be misdiagnosed, and by December of that year, I was also very suddenly legally blind. I was forced to get several MRIs and other expensive tests to finally get a diagnosis. I have multiple sclerosis, and like many other Americans, I also have “medical debt.”

My situation is far from unique. Everyone, except the wealthiest among us, is vulnerable.

Medical debt is the most common financial burden and the leading cause for people to file for bankruptcy in America. Too many people like me are being forced to choose between paying a medical bill or making their house payment, filling their “life-saving” prescription or feeding their family. Americans spend more for health care than anywhere else in the world – “around 18% of the GDP” – yet our health and health care system are failing us. We are getting sicker, dying younger and it is long past time for a change.

Medicare for All would ensure that everyone receives the best level of care, the medicines they need and would eliminate costly medical bills.

Let’s make health care a human right!

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