Health

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The League of Women Voters supports the access of every U.S. resident to affordable, quality health care, including birth control and the privacy to make reproductive choices.

In its official policy document, the League’s statement of support for health care reform through “a national [program] financed through general taxes in place of individual…premiums” (or what is known as Improved and Enhanced Medicare for All) is clear.

See below for more details on the League’s Position on Health Care in Impact on Issues 2020-2022.

• The League favors a national health insurance plan financed through general taxes in place of individual insurance premiums (p. 129, last line).
• The League is opposed to a strictly private market-based model of financing the health care system.
• The League supports increased taxes to finance a basic level of health care for all U.S. residents, provided health care reforms contain effective cost control strategies.
• The League believes that the ability of a patient to pay for services should not be a consideration in the allocation of health care resources.

Specifically, the League supports single-payer health care:

• “The League position calls for a national health insurance plan financed through general taxes, commonly known as the “single-payer” approach.”
• “As an important step toward a national health insurance plan,…the position also supports an employer-based system [IF] it provides universal access to care.”
• "Copayments and deductibles are acceptable cost containment mechanisms only if they are based on an individual’s ability to pay. In addition, cost containment mechanisms should not interfere with the delivery of quality health care.” These constraints apply to other cost-control methods in the position — such as the use of managed care, utilization review of treatment, and mandatory second opinions. Subsequent public policy research and three decades of empirical data now recognize that these methods have formalized barriers to equitable care, reduced universal access, worsened quality by delaying care, and increased administrative costs by increasing complexity.

Here's a wrap-up of the LWVCM’s Healthcare Action Team activities in 2022 from its Annual Report:

1. The Healthcare Committee joined LWVCM’s Women’s Issue Committee, the Charlotte Women’s Movement, and other local organizations to participate in the Fighting for our Reproductive Rights rally in October.
2. We participated in NC Justice Center’s Medicaid Expansion postcard initiative.
3. Nicole Dozier, a League partner from the NC Justice Center, presented an update on Medicaid Expansion at the LWVCM League Talk on March 15.
4. LWVPT and LWVCM co-sponsored the Health Policy & the League series in February and March. Sessions included the history U.S. health policy, a book discussion, and a presentation by Dr. William Munn, also of NC Justice Center.
5. We continue to collaborate with Leagues across North Carolina and the United States as well as other local groups to advocate for healthcare reform.