LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A rally to call for the end of private health insurance was held Saturday as part of a "National Day of Action," where rallies were held in at least 25 cities across the U.S.

Dozens gathered in downtown Louisville to demand a national single-payer health care system.

“Our need for a single-payer insurance is so important,” said Gail Henson with the League of Women Voters of Kentucky.

This is a system where the government pays health care claims from money that’s collected through taxes. Advocates of different backgrounds gave speeches during Saturday’s rally to support the single-payer system.

“We are here to demand Medicare for all … not as a luxury, not just some dream, but as a basic right,” said Dustin Reinstedler, president of Kentucky AFL-CIO.

Some in attendance said they're worried about potential cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, but their concerns with the current for-profit health care system stretch even further back.

“We have a broken system, guys,” said Karen Krigger, University of Louisville professor of family and geriatric medicine.

Second-year University of Louisville medical student Hamza Jamal echoed this sentiment.

“For years, for-profit insurance has been creeping and growing like a cancer throughout our system,” Jamal said.

An aspiring doctor, Jamal said he feels restricted under the current system. 

“We are spending years of 12 hours a day just studying, and then in the end, we're just supposed to ask somebody else, ‘Am I allowed to give this? Am I allowed to do this surgery? Am I allowed to give this medication?’" Jamal said. "It's something that's not right."

"It's really taking away the expertise away from the people that devoted themselves to it, and it’s passing it on to people that are just administrators.”

Lexington-based doctor Kitrina Kearfott said she noticed issues within the system shortly after getting her medical degree more than 30 years ago. She saw firsthand how patients struggled to pay expenses.

“I've known patients who have had to declare bankruptcy to pay their hospital bills,” Kearfott said. “I’ve known patients who will never be able, in their lifetime, to pay off the interest on the credit card debt for medical bills.”

The ring of a bell during the rally signified the loss of those who didn’t have access to health care, including Louisville resident Tracy Pike, who died of stomach cancer after his insurance company denied covering the treatment he needed.

Kay Tillow of Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care rang the bell at Louisville's "National Day of Action" rally May 31, 2025, after each time a statement was read about people who have died because of not having access to essential health care. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

“We mourn his death and commit to the legislation that will end such tragedies,” said Charlie Casper of Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care.

The bell rang following Casper’s statement.

“Congress should enact an improved Medicare for all, a national single-payer plan that would cover everyone from the beginning of life to the end and would take away all of the barriers to care,” said Kay Tillow of Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care, who helped organize the rally.

The National Single Payer grassroots coalition will continue to advocate for this cause until its demands are met.

More than 140 organizations co-sponsored Saturday’s national events. Some Kentucky co-sponsors included the Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council.