An UNMUTED x Pepper NYC Dialogue: Medicare for All, Paid by Who?
A collaboration event between the UNMUTED and Pepper NYC. Open bar included in ticket.
Millions of Americans still live one accident, one diagnosis, or one bad month away from medical debt, skipped care, or a bill that changes the rest of their life. In 2024, about 27.2 million people (8.2%) were uninsured, with adults 18–64 far more likely to be uninsured than seniors.
Universal healthcare sounds like the obvious fix. The problem is the bill. US healthcare spending hit $5.3 trillion in 2024. Medicare alone was about $1.1 trillion that year. “Medicare for All” style proposals often shift costs onto the federal government on a massive scale, with major studies estimating tens of trillions in additional federal spending over a decade depending on assumptions about provider payment rates, utilization, and benefits. The core tension is not whether people deserve care. The tension is who pays, what gets funded, what gets rationed, and what we are willing to trade off.
Debating tonight:
Pro universal healthcare: Jonathan Halvorson (Sachs Policy Group), a healthcare policy consultant focused on coverage markets and payment policy, with experience including work as a New York State health plan regulator and health policy writing.
Against universal healthcare: Maitreyee Joshi (Avon Health), Founder & CEO building an AI-native EMR and writing/speaking publicly on health system incentives and how healthcare actually runs inside clinics and health IT.
Format
5-minute opening statements each (10 minutes total)
Moderator-led questioning across 3 areas (10–15 minutes)
Audience Q&A (15–20 minutes)
Closing statement from each speaker
Then the UNMUTED part
10-minute break
20–25 minutes of small-group breakout discussion
10 minutes of open mic
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