POLITICO's Pulse Check

Meet John Marty — the "Bernie Sanders of Minnesota"

Episode Summary

How one man's long, lonely and local fight for single-payer health care parallels the national battle.

Episode Notes

John Marty ran for state Senate in Minnesota in the 1980s because he wanted to achieve social change. More than 30 years later, single-payer health care has become his defining mission — and Marty says that his local battle has been supercharged by Bernie Sanders and the national Medicare for All movement.

POLITICO's Dan Diamond looked at the political dynamics around Medicare for All and then sat down with Sen. Marty to discuss his policy, strategy and the difficult trade-offs behind single-payer.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Marty has spent years pushing for what he calls the Minnesota Health Plan.

MinnPost wrote about Marty's "lonely quest" to achieve single-payer health care — a decade ago.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan advocacy organization, has thrown its support behind Medicare for All. 

The Minnesota Nurses Association has pushed for single-payer health care and specifically backed Marty's bill.