Politics
Bynum joins push for Medicare for All as Oregon weighs state plan
U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum has signed onto a federal single-payer health care bill as Oregon prepares recommendations on a publicly funded system. She says federal policy changes could raise costs for tens of thousands of people in her district.
U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum backed a federal Medicare for All proposal at a Monday news conference in downtown Portland, joining more than 100 House Democrats supporting a single-payer health care system as Oregon considers a plan of its own.
Bynum, a Democrat seeking reelection in November, became a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act in mid-September. She called universal health care “a human right” and said people should not have to choose between medical care and paying for housing.
The proposal, led in the House by Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has 117 Democratic co-sponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. It has circulated in Congress for more than two decades but has never come close to becoming law. Every Democrat in Oregon’s congressional delegation supports it; Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz is the only member of the delegation who has not signed on.
Bynum said more than 28,000 people in her district could face higher insurance costs and another 25,000 could lose coverage because of changes under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the scheduled expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Those figures were her estimates.
She argued that high health care costs can restrict people’s ability to change jobs, start businesses or care for relatives. Bynum also criticized large health care and insurance companies, saying many Oregonians struggle to afford both medical care and housing while those companies remain profitable.
Oregon is separately preparing to consider a publicly funded health care system. A state board is expected to send recommendations to lawmakers by Dec. 1. The debate is unfolding as Democrats promote expanded coverage nationally, including extending ACA subsidies, reversing Medicaid cuts and lowering the age for Medicare eligibility.
Bynum represents the 5th Congressional District, which includes Portland suburbs, Clackamas County and the Bend area. She won the seat in 2024 by 2.7 percentage points. Though the race is rated “solid D” by the Cook Political Report, she is the only Oregon member of Congress on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s list of vulnerable incumbents.