More Than 130 Groups Launch ‘One Nation, Overcharged’ Campaign Against America’s Healthcare Crisis

In America, people can finance a vacation, split a designer bag payment into four installments and get same-day delivery on almost anything, but somehow seeing a doctor still feels financially out of reach for millions.

Now, that growing frustration is turning into something much bigger.

This summer, a new grassroots campaign called “One Nation, Overcharged” is launching nationwide to call attention to America’s healthcare affordability crisis and demand a system that puts people over profits instead of corporate bottom lines. 

Backed by more than 130 advocacy groups, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and 12 national partners, the people-powered movement plans to spark conversations around the country through organizing efforts, advertising campaigns, community activations and storytelling centered on the people being crushed by medical costs every day.

Celebrities and public figures including Noah Wyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Steven Weber and Dr. Mike Varshavski are also lending their voices and platforms to amplify the issue, which organizers say has reached a breaking point for working families across the country.

The movement aims to tap into the frustration many Americans have carried for years around expensive, unequal healthcare and turn those conversations into louder national and local calls for a system that prioritizes people’s well-being over corporate profits.

“When people in America are forced to choose between buying groceries or seeing their doctor, it’s a problem that requires action,” said Avenel Joseph, vice president for policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

“The time to demand action is now. All of us who are frustrated by the status quo must make our voices heard.”

For many advocates involved, the issue goes beyond healthcare altogether. They see it as another example of how inequality continues to shape who gets access to care and who gets left behind.

“The cost of healthcare in this country is not just a financial issue, it’s a social justice issue,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. 

Johnson pointed to the disproportionate impact high healthcare costs continue to have on Black communities, particularly around maternal health, cancer, heart disease and diabetes. 

“This is what happens when profit is prioritized over people,” he said. “Lives are lost.”