Midterm wave sets a course for "Medicare for All" fight
LANSING, Mich. — Fifteen years working as an emergency room nurse has convinced Kim Bogan that the only way to fix the American healthcare system is to tear it down and start over. Her patients arriving for triage are sicker than ever, unable to afford many of their prescriptions, and sometimes she questions if she could have saved lives had she not been caring for five or six patients at once.
That's why she spent the past year juggling 12-hour shifts at Sparrow Hospital and campaigning for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who made "Medicare for All" a signature issue in his congressional campaign and is now a senator-elect. But she realizes that while progressive candidates successfully campaigned on the policy in states like Texas, Iowa, Maine, and Michigan, it won't be an easy sell.
"Nobody expected that," Bogan said.
Medicare for All, typically referring to a government health program guaranteeing coverage by replacing most or all private insurance, faces criticism. Even in the blue wave of the 2026 midterms, champions of Medicare for All generally won by smaller margins than more moderate Democrats.
Jonathan Oberlander, a professor and healthcare reform expert at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, states: "Whatever else people voted for in this midterm election — anger about inflation, corruption, or the Iran war — they didn't vote to have the government take over health insurance."
Despite this, supporters of universal healthcare see the moment as a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Americans are struggling under rising healthcare costs, and change is desired. Several states, including Oregon, are already exploring single-payer systems.
Oberlander predicts the policy agenda will gain momentum heading into the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries. However, moderate Democrats may view the idea's popularity as a threat to their gains in states like Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina, potentially resisting the push for Medicare for All.
Previous Medicare for All proposals required millions to give up their existing coverage, facing strong opposition from the healthcare industry, according to Michael Cannon, a healthcare economist at the libertarian Cato Institute. "If Medicare for All actually had the price levels envisioned by Bernie Sanders and Abdul El-Sayed, the industry would tear it to shreds," he said.
Support for Medicare for All, while growing, wanes when common arguments against it are presented, like potential higher taxes or treatment delays, as shown in a recent KFF poll.
Jaime Bardenhagen, a former nurse with Parkinson's and sialidosis, feels conflicted about government-provided healthcare. She feels guilty yet understands her need for disability benefits. Growing up on a farm, she believed in working for what she needed, not relying on government support.