Hundreds testify in support of Massachusetts Medicare-for‑All bills at Joint Committee hearing

Senate Chair Cindy Friedman and House Chair Representative John Lawn convened a hearing of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing to receive testimony on H.1405 and S.860, bills to establish a Massachusetts Health Care Trust and a single‑payer, Medicare‑for‑All style system.

Supporters told the committee the current system is unaffordable and fragile and urged prompt action. Senator John Eldridge, who filed S.860 with Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, said, “I believe that health care should be a right,” and described the proposed trust as a way to guarantee “no co pays, no deductibles, no denials of care, and no need to reenroll.”

Why it matters: Witnesses said rising insurance costs and hospital closures are already disrupting access to care and municipal budgets. Multiple…