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As we come to the end of 2025, we hope you are safe and healthy. Thank you for your involvement in the single-payer movement. We look forward to the reintroduction of CalCare in the California legislature early next year.

In this newsletter we review reasons for activating for CalCare and highlight informative articles. We also introduce CUSP – California United for Single Payer, a new coalition of organizations for single-payer health care. 

We Need CalCare

• The White House and many members of Congress are not interested in improving health care for Americans. Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” prioritized tax breaks for billionaires over people losing insurance and access to medicare care, Congress doesn’t seem likely to extend ACA subsidies and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ignores medical and epidemiologic research.

• California can lead the nation in implementation of single payer financing. In Canada, the province of Saskatchewan first implemented a universal health care system and in 1984, the Canada Health Act was passed. 

• Insurance companies continue to rip us off.

• The cost of health insurance keeps rising.

• Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are associated with worse outcomes.

• Americans with disabilities experience health disparities. The number of people who have a disability is expected to increase as our population ages.

• Lack of health insurance increases the risk of death.

• Nearly 4 in 10 Californians have medical debt. 

The timing for CalCare is good, Americans are fed up with insurance companies 

• Polls show that significantly more Americans support Medicare for All now even when they know it will end private insurance coverage. 

• There’s financial and social support for Luigi Mangione, who one year ago allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Nursing IS a Professional Degree

From the American Nurses Association. Nurses are the backbone of healthcare in the U.S., yet the Department of Education may use 1960s-era definitions of “professional” and “graduate” degrees to determine loan limits, leading to the further erosion of the nursing workforce.

Tell Your Members of Congress to Improve Long-Term Care

From The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care: billions of tax dollars are paid to long-term care providers, yet often services are lacking or substandard, and the person needing care suffers from harm or neglect. Americans need high-quality long-term care supports and services (LTSS).

HC4US was established as a non-profit in 2022 and during this journey we have partnered with various organizations and individuals who support CalCare. Passage of CalCare in California in 2026 will take a huge, concerted effort. The Board of Directors of HC4US (BOD) believes that a coalition of organizations can have a strong, positive impact on CalCare becoming law.

This year with other single-payer partners, the BOD of HC4US has facilitated the formation of CUSP, California United for Single Payer. “The CUSP coalition believes single-payer healthcare will only be achieved by centering and uplifting marginalized communities, addressing needs of seniors, and engaging rank-and-file trade union members through base-building in every region of the state.” CUSP is a 501(c)(4) organization. 

BOD members of HC4US are actively involved as CUSP board and committee members. HC4US continues to coordinate with CNA (California Nurses Association), the sponsor of CalCare. CNA, HC4US and CSUP share the goal of passage of CalCare in 2026. 

If you have questions about CUSP, please contact us at info@hc4us.org. If you would like your organization to apply for membership in CUSP, click the button. 

In the last 5 years, more Americans are seeing the light. Citing results of a Data for Progress poll conducted in November, Joey Rettino writes in this HEALTH CARE un-covered – Substack article, “Americans are looking past the Affordable Care Act’s limits and past Big Insurance’s promises – and towards a solution that decouples Americans’ health from profit-hungry, Wall Street-driven corporate monsters. While Washington has met this moment with inaction, Americans seem ready to act.”

In The Lever, David Sirota states that across the political spectrum, 63% of likely voters said they “support Medicare for All, even knowing it would eliminate most private insurance plans and replace premiums with higher taxes.” 

Katelyn Jetelina and Hayden Rooke-Ley explain “5 ways our health care system has become utterly insane” in their deep dive into the U.S. health care “system”. 

One of these 5 insane ways is echoed by Donna Smith in Common Dreams starkly reinforces that we don’t have a health care system, the medical-financial-industrial complex (MFIC) is a business and it’s a largely unregulated mess.

Congratulations to New Mexico for implementing Free Child Care for all residents on November 1st! This is an encouraging new law that shows that state governments have power to make meaningful change.

In the video, newscaster Olivia Rubin reviews the new law’s rules and benefits. CalCare campaign activists can learn from this video and view it as offering lessons in how to frame information. The video explains New Mexico’s new law with:

• simple, clear language like “Free Child Care”

• cost savings – “Families in New Mexico will save $12,000 per child each year”

• benefits – “The policy boosts New Mexico’s economy and child well-being”

• positive framing – lifts “restriction” of a family’s income level, now all families are eligible 

• funding information – funded from state oil and gas revenue

Click the button to watch the video.

ORGANIZE. AGITATE. EDUCATE. LEGISLATE.

THANK YOU!