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Northampton council unanimously backs resolution supporting state Medicare-for-All bill
Summary
Councilors voted unanimously June 5 to adopt a resolution urging the Massachusetts Legislature to enact a Medicare-for-All law. The measure was sponsored by Ward 1 Councilor Shelley Berkowitz and was supported by several local health-care professionals and union representatives during public comment.
The Northampton City Council voted unanimously on June 5 to adopt a resolution expressing support for an act establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts and urging the state legislature to pass the measure.
The resolution's lead sponsor, Dr. Shelley Berkowitz, identified herself as the author and asked the council to send the municipal endorsement to the state legislature. During the meeting, public commenters including Diane Haley, a registered nurse and member of MassCare, and Dr. Colin Shipman, a family physician from Greenfield, urged the council to support the resolution and argued the change would reduce administrative waste and help local employers and municipalities manage rising health-care costs.
Berkowitz told the council that recent state and national developments make the measure more urgent and cited state-level fiscal pressures and recent actions in other Massachusetts municipalities that have held public discussions of single-payer proposals. Councilors on both sides of the dais praised Berkowitz and the public commenters and said they supported the resolution for reasons ranging from reducing municipal health-care costs to broadening access.
Councilor Moulton moved the resolution and Councilor Dubs seconded the motion. The council adopted the resolution by voice vote; the record shows a unanimous "aye" from the councilors present.
Speakers during the public-comment portion connected the measure to local concerns: a nursing union rally at Cooley Dickinson Hospital and reported increases in municipal health-care spending for other Massachusetts cities were cited as reasons to back further study and state-level action. Speakers also urged councilors to consider the resolution as part of broader municipal and state advocacy on health care.
The council will transmit the adopted resolution to the legislature and noted that the municipal vote is an expression of the city's position rather than a binding legal change in state policy.
