October 6, 2026 Support for a "Medicare for all" healthcare system continues to grow among registered US voters. KFF reports ("Current and Historical Public Opinion on Medicare-for-All and Other National Health Plan Proposals," KFF, October 6, 2026): "A September 2026 KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that two-thirds (66%) of the public say they favor having a national health plan, sometimes called Medicare-for-all, in which all Americans would get their insurance from a single government plan. This includes about eight in ten Democrats (84%) and seven in ten independents (72%). Most Republicans, however, oppose the proposal (66%), including about half (48%)…
Oregon Universal Health Plan Report Delayed Until December
September 23, 2026 Oregon's Universal Health Plan Governance Board was to issue its report to the state legislature on implementing universal health coverage for all state residents by September 15, 2026. That deadline has been pushed back until December 1. Oregon Capital Chronicle reported (Jake Thomas, "Oregon universal health care board punts single-payer report over funding uncertainty," Oregon Capital Chronicle, August 6, 2026): "The Universal Health Plan Governance Board voted unanimously Thursday morning to extend its deadline to Dec. 1 for its report that will describe the state’s transition to a single-payer system where a public corporation would offer what’s…
Yale Study: Universal Health Coverage Could Save Lives and One Trillion Dollars Annually
A not-yet-peer reviewed Yale University study has found that adoption of universal health coverage in the United States could save $1.04 trillion and 114,000 lives every year.According to a news release from the Yale University School of Public Health (Matt Kristoffersen, Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects, August 13, 2026):"The model identified five major sources of savings: lower pharmaceutical prices, Medicare-level payments to providers, reduced administrative overhead, less fraudulent billing, and fewer avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Even under more conservative assumptions about drug prices and fraud reduction, the researchers…
Tracking Universal Health Coverage
The World Health Organization and the World Bank have released a new report entitled Tracking universal health coverage: 2025 global monitoring report.According to the news release (Most countries make progress towards universal health coverage, but major challenges remain, WHO–World Bank report finds, World Health Organization, December 6 2025):"The UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025 shows that health service coverage, measured by the Service Coverage Index (SCI), rose from 54 to 71 points between 2000 and 2023. Meanwhile, the share of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments declined from 34% to 26% between 2000 and…
Support Grows for Government-Run Health System
Gallup recently released results from its annual Health and Healthcare Poll, which are based on telephone interviews conducted November 6-20, 2024 with a random sample of 1,001 adults living in the US. The new data show that support for the US adopting a government-run healthcare system is growing.According to Gallup (Jeffrey M. Jones, "More in U.S. See Health Coverage as Government Responsibility," Gallup, Dec. 9, 2024):"Americans divide about evenly on this question, with 46% saying the U.S. should have a government-run healthcare system, while 49% are in favor of a system based mostly on private health insurance. Only in a…
Oregon Becomes First US State To Guarantee Its Residents Access To Affordable Healthcare
January 20, 2023 In the November 2022 general election, Oregon voters narrowly approved Oregon Measure 111, the Right to Healthcare Amendment. The measure amended the state constitution, adding a guarantee of access to affordable healthcare for all Oregon residents. According to Ballotpedia, last accessed Jan. 20, 2023:"Ballot title"The ballot title was as follows:[7]"Amends Constitution: State must ensure affordable healthcare access, balanced against requirement to fund schools, other essential services"Result of 'Yes' Vote: 'Yes' vote requires state to ensure affordable healthcare access. State must balance healthcare funding against funding for schools, other essential services; courts must respect balance."Result of 'No' Vote:…