Public Citizen: Rural New Hampshire Demands Medicare for All

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Public Citizen issued the following statement by Melinda St. Louis, director of Medicare for all campaign:

The towns of Grantham and Holderness, N.H., passed resolutions in support of Medicare for All by majority vote of town residents at their annual meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The resolutions efforts were initiated by local physicians Dr. Kenneth Dolkart and Dr. Camilla Jones. Similar resolutions have been passed in localities all over the country. Public Citizen is part of a coalition urging citizens to press their local governments to pass Medicare for All resolutions.

Small rural towns like Grantham and Holderness need Medicare for All, and their citizens are demanding it. Medicare for All would provide rural health providers better financial stability and better resources to treat their patients. It also would save local governments money, as a large portion of small-town budgets is spent on pricy employee health plans provided by for-profit insurance corporations.

And as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the pitfalls of the for-profit U.S. health care system are laid bare.

These successful town meeting resolutions demonstrate how change happens: with neighbors coming together in their communities and demanding action from their elected officials from the ground up.

From small towns like Grantham and Holderness to large cities like Los Angeles and Philadelphia, the movement for Medicare for All continues to grow across this country.