National Nurses United announces support for Illinois Universal health Care Act

National Nurses United (NNU) Midwest has announced its support for HB 942, the Illinois Universal Health Care Act.

The Act would establish a single-payer health care system in Illinois.

“Nurses understand that health care is a human right,” said Jan Rodolfo, RN, NNU Midwest Director. “We believe that everyone deserves a single, excellent standard of care, regardless of ability to pay. We care for people who need care – not because they can pay – because it’s the right thing to do.”

Illinois’ single-payer bill, at that time called the Healthy Illinois Act, was first introduced by Representative Mary Flowers of Chicago on January 18, 2007, and has been re-introduced in every General Assembly session since then. It is nearly identical to the national single-payer bill, HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. In 2011, at the request of activists, Flowers introduced the bill under the name Illinois Universal Health Care Act.

National Nurses United, through its Nurses Campaign to Heal America, is a national leader in the fight for single-payer health care.