Maplewood is now the first town in Essex County to adopt a resolution in support of Medicare for All. It is second in the state of NJ, behind only Toms River.
“This pandemic has exposed the ever-deepening fault line between the haves and have-nots. Perhaps nowhere is that more pervasive than in access to healthcare,” said Deputy Mayor Dean Dafis on Tuesday. Increased unemployment has left even more Americans without care in the pandemic. “It took a global pandemic for us to realize that access to care is the answer,” said Dafis.
The Township Committee agreed that supporting Medicare for All “makes economic sense, will save us money, [and] it’s good for business,” Dafis said, since providing employees with access to healthcare is important but costly. Supporting Medicare for All also recognizes the stress that medical debt places on elderly and uninsured Americans, especially those who are Black and Latinx.
“This is an opportunity to provide not only freedom of choice, but also comprehensive and uniform care,” said Dafis. He also cited recent polling which showed that a majority of Americans support Medicare for All.
The TC voted unanimously to adopt the resolution in support of the Medicare for All Act of 2019 and the Emergency Care Guarantee Act of 2020, which is specifically geared to COVID-19 care.
Read the full resolution below.
