On Saturday, December 15, the United Workers will host the launching of the new statewide campaign “Healthcare Is a Human Right Maryland.”

Local chapters have already been formed in Baltimore City and Ann Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery counties. At the launch, members from across the state will share testimonies about the importance of fighting for universal health care and basic human rights. Leaders from Vermont’s successful universal healthcare campaign will also be attendance. Over the last few months, local chapter members have organized healthcare teach-ins, hosted movie screenings, and surveyed hundreds of Marylanders about their personal struggles with the current healthcare system. A substantial majority of those surveyed believe healthcare is a human right and support the creation of a universal healthcare system.

The “Healthcare Is a Human Right Maryland” campaign strives to build a strong grassroots base to win passage of the Maryland Health Security Act and broader improvements in all health-related areas, including education, housing, jobs, and the environment. The campaign builds on the long history of work for universal healthcare in Maryland and is inspired by a similar campaign in Vermont that successfully won passage of a universal healthcare bill in the Vermont Legislature in 2011.