EASTHAMPTON — In the midst of soaring health care costs in the United States, the City Council has passed a resolution in support of “Medicare for All,” backing a piece of legislation that would change health care in Massachusetts.
The council passed the resolution at the its April 8 meeting, stamping messages of support for a An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts, a piece of legislation moving through Beacon Hill. The resolution passed with one abstention.
The council also passed a resolution in support of An Act Promoting Rule of Law, Oversight, Trust, and Equal Constitutional Treatment (the PROTECT Act).
“We are having to face a lot of decisions based on really expensive health care costs right now,” said Tamara Smith, one of the councilors that put the Medicare resolution forward.
Smith put the resolution forward along with Council Vice President Felicia Jadczak, and Councilors Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid and Nathan Markee.
Highlighting the “healthcare crisis” hitting the United States, the resolution refers to a January 2026 study by MassCare, finding that in Massachusetts, health care expenditures have grown more than $128 billion annually.
“Switching to a single-payer system, as proposed in the statewide legislation An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts, could eliminate over $54 billion in unnecessary spending,” it says.
Savings from the act, which is cosponsored by state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton, would benefit more than 98% of Massachusetts households, the resolution says. The act would eliminate co-pays and premiums, replacing them with a 2.5% income tax and a 7.5% payroll tax for employers.
Not only would it benefit households, the resolution claims, but it would also save employers and municipalities savings, many of which are also reckoning with increased health insurance costs like Easthampton. The analysis by MassCare found that Easthampton would save over $3.5 million annually in health care costs, if the act passes.
Councilor Thomas Peake said sometimes he hears constituents ask about resolutions, “What does this have to do with the city of Easthampton?”
“The weight that the health care system puts on the city is immense and keeping up with that is an enormous challenge,” he said about Easthampton, which is incurring nearly $1 million in health care costs after premium increases last year.
Those costs contribute to an approximate $7 million deficit that Mayor Salem Derby informed the public of at the April 8 meeting. Derby thanked the council for passing both resolutions.
The one abstention for the vote came from Councilor Amanda Newton who said she supports health care for all, but is concerned about the potential negative impact an act like this could have on attracting medical providers to Massachusetts.
“I am definitely in support of health care for all. The one concern that I have that is not addressed here with statistics is that we live really close, less than two hours away, from one of the best medical areas in Boston,” Newton said, adding that she knows several people including a family member that receive care in Boston.
“I wouldn’t want this to impact the research and everything that’s happening in those hospitals,” she said.
