Indianapolis passes Medicare for All resolution

At a special event in November, Circle City Greens felt victorious as the Indianapolis City-County Council approved a resolution in support of establishing a national Medicare for All program. The resolution was endorsed and advocated by a coalition of organizations including the Circle City Greens and the Indiana Green Party (INGP). 

The resolution, Proposal #362, included language that the City-County Council “endorses and urges Congress to pass the Healthcare Emergency Guarantee Act of 2020 (HR 6906, SB 2790) and the Medicare for All Act of 2019 (HR 1384, SB 1129) to provide universal, comprehensive health coverage with zero cost-sharing during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.” 

https://www.indy.gov/workflow/city-county-council-proposals/prop_details

With this resolution, the partnering organizations of The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Democratic Socialists of America, Indiana NORML, Poor People’s Campaign, and the INGP now have a formal document which explicitly states “The Indianapolis City-County Council supports the establishment of a comprehensive, universal, single-payer health care system, with zero cost-sharing, in the United States.” 

Indianapolis is a bit behind the curve for passing such a resolution, as West Lafayette had done so earlier in 2021 in early February. The Medicare for All Resolution passed unanimously in West Lafayette, though it only passed by a majority in Indianapolis. This begs the question which city in Indiana is a true leader for the betterment of the state and its people and shows that more organizing work is needed around the importance of a universal healthcare system.