Highland Park Borough Council Passes Medicare for All Resolution

HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. — The Borough of Highland Park Council voted this evening to approve a resolution in support of a national Medicare for All system. Highland Park is the tenth New Jersey municipality, following Trenton, Princeton and West Orange Township, to pass a resolution in support of guaranteed health care, and sends a strong message to the New Jersey congressional delegation that state residents demand health care for everyone.

 The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated New Jersey, leading to over 26,000 deaths, 2,300 of which are from Middlesex County alone. The U.S.’s for-profit healthcare system has put the country at a dangerous disadvantage during this pandemic and hindered rapid response at every turn, as documented in a recent report from Public Citizen.

“Healthcare is a basic human right. Medicare for All will save lives. I am happy to have been a part of getting the resolution passed with the help of so many residents,” said Highland Park Borough Councilmember Tara Canavera.

“I am proud to see the town that I’ve called home for over a decade is taking a stance in favor of Medicare for All. Achieving healthcare for everyone has never been more important, and hopefully resolutions like this will compel lawmakers at all levels to put their support behind Medicare for All,” added Benjamin Arenger, organizer with Our Revolution Middlesex County, the local chapter of the national grassroots group Our Revolution that worked to pass this local resolution.

 The resolution is intended to show the growing demand for Medicare for All and to push the entire New Jersey congressional delegation to take a strong stance in support of universal healthcare.

In addition to Highland Park and other New Jersey municipalities, dozens of cities across the country, including Detroit, Philadelphia, Seattle, Los Angeles and New Orleans also have passed resolutions in support of the popular health care policy.

“New Jersey municipal governments like Highland Park and Trenton are showing themselves to be national leaders in demanding guaranteed health care for everyone living in this country,” said Melinda St. Louis, campaign director for Public Citizen’s Medicare for All campaign. “It is encouraging that Rep. Frank Pallone, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rep. Donald Payne have heeded their call by cosponsoring the Medicare for All Act of 2021. We hope the rest of the New Jersey congressional delegation will also show their commitment to the health of their constituents by joining them.”