Columbia residents and students with political signs and Our Revolution t-shirts packed into the Koger Center to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Nina Turner speak for the next stop of the Medicare For All rally.
Sanders began a nine-state tour on Oct. 18, looking to spread his message of affordable healthcare. His stop in Columbia on Oct. 20 was referred to as "Medicare for Y'all," and it is partnered with the campus chapter of Our Revolution, a campaign started by Turner.
Sanders took the stage and immediately thanked Turner and Our Revolution for the work they've done around the country to bring social, economic, racial and environmental justice through cooperation from citizens.
"The way we do that is through revitalizing American democracy, getting people to stand up and fight for what is right,” Sanders said.
Much of the rally focused on his proposed single-payer medicare for all systems, although Sanders channeled his 2016 campaign talking points throughout. Sanders touted his campaign's success with its ability to garner support from millennials and birthing now mainstream democratic ideals.
Sanders said the "dysfunctional" US healthcare system requires citizens to pay the highest prices for prescription drugs, co-payments and deductibles, while 20 percent of Americans can't afford prescriptions.
“What kind of absurd system is that?" Sanders said.
His goal is to expand Medicare to all Americans under a single-payer program which he claimed will cover existing medical needs not covered under the existing Medicare system for the elderly, such as hearing aids, vision care and dental care.
Sanders cited a recent Reuters-Ipsos survey, which found that 85 percent of democrats support medicare for all, along with 52 percent of republicans. He claimed that this survey proves that citizens have achieved the courage to change the healthcare system and fight against the various industries involved in healthcare.
"And make it clear that in America the function of healthcare is to provide quality care to all," Sanders said. "Not to make tens of billions in profits for the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry."
Aakash Patel, a second-year public health student, attended the rally because he said he leans left politically and he agrees with Sanders' Medicare for all message. He believes Medicare for all is a "no-brainer" solution for the U.S.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that we have so much of our money spent on healthcare when it’s also at a lower quality than the rest of the world anyway,” Patel said.
Patel said explaining long-term costs and benefits are a way for democrats to persuade support from citizens across the aisle.
Matt Green, a second-year information science student, previously believed Medicare for all would be too expensive, but he was persuaded that the cost would be cheaper in the long-term.
"What he had to say, it really changed the way I think about, well, Medicare for everyone," Green said.
Turner repeatedly told the audience the rally was for them, about them and that change begins with them. Turner told the audience that her grandmother said there are three things needed for success — a wishbone, jawbone and a backbone. Most important out of the three, a backbone allows one to stand through the trials and tribulations faced in a lifetime experience, and it gives one courage to do what's right.
“All of the great advances that we have ever had in this country did not come because somebody with a fancy title decided to have a conscious," Turner said. "It came because the people demanded it.”