PA Emergency Doctor Launches PAC Supporting Candidates Who Champion Medicare For All
Dr. Robert Solomon, an emergency physician and former Congressional candidate, founded the Universal Healthcare Political Action Committee to support political candidates who champion Medicare for All and other forms of single payer healthcare.
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As an emergency physician with more than 30 years of experience practicing medicine, Dr. Robert Solomon has seen first-hand the devastating impact that lack of affordable healthcare has had on too many Americans. And as a Congressional candidate, he saw how little support existed to reform the system.
That's why Solomon, a former Congressional candidate, has created the Universal Healthcare Political Action Committee to support candidates who vow to fight for affordable, accessible healthcare. The Universal Health Care Political Action Committee is a non-partisan PAC spanning both federal and state legislative elections nationwide.
"In the late spring of 2017, I decided to run for Congress when the long-term Republican incumbent representing my district voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even knowing that 37,000 people in our Congressional District would lose their health care coverage if that repeal were to be enacted," Solomon explained.
He continued:
"Although framed by many as a political issue, to me universal health care is a more of a test of the morality of the wealthiest nation in the world. The idea of America failing this simple test led me into the political arena with the goal of righting this inexcusable wrong."
As a candidate, Solomon said, he learned there isn't a mechanism for identifying and supporting political candidates who ardently advocate for achieving universal health care in the USA - including but not limited to the adoption of a single-payer system such as Medicare for All. This political vacuum often leaves candidates lacking reliable sources of campaign funds in comparison to their opponents, who often raise large sums of money based on their opposition to universal healthcare coverage. The goal of the Universal Healthcare PAC is to level the playing field in a post-Citizens United world.
But that isn't the only stumbling block these candidates face when soliciting support. Numerous existing organizations advocating for Medicare for All refuse to endorse political candidates or provide financial support because they "don't want to be political," Solomon explained.
That, he said, is where the Universal Healthcare PAC comes in.
Through the PAC, these candidates will be carefully vetted, and those who openly champion the issue will receive an endorsement, as well as the possibility of financial support for their campaigns.
"Their candidacies will be promoted to progressives, healthcare professionals who are advocates, and other organizations whose activities include political advocacy in support of universal healthcare – and ultimately to the general public, with a message that these candidates stand for change in the way we finance health care in this country that will be good for all Americans," Solomon said.
Candidates for office at all levels nationwide are encouraged to fill out the Universal Healthcare PAC's Online Endorsement Questionnaire, which can be accessed at http://www.universalhealthcarepac.com. Individuals are also encouraged to visit the website to make a secure online donation that will directly benefit endorsed candidates.
SOURCE Universal Health Care Political Action Committee
Share this article