What we want:
* We seek the recognition that medical care is a basic right and should be provided to all people regardless of income-level, age, or background.
* We envision an America in which hospitals do not turn away sick patients who lack healthcare coverage and cannot pay their medical expenses.
* We envision an America in which everyone has access to the health services they need.
* We envision an effective and efficient national healthcare system that provides quality care for all.

The members of the Student Healthcare Action Network believe that healthcare is nothing less than a right, and that the current healthcare system in the United States constitutes a human rights violation. We see a broken system of healthcare in the United States which is based on the principle of maximum profits for health insurance companies, rather than maximum healthcare for all. Insurance companies which principally strive to pay dividends to shareholders can be expected to reject claims, refuse coverage to those most in need of care, and charge as much as possible. Just because it can be expected, however, does not mean it should be tolerated. Private health insurance companies have demonstrated their failure to meet the healthcare needs of this country, and yet they are currently the only option. Blind reliance on the open market to bring healthcare to all cannot be justified, and yet health insurance companies and their pet elected officials urge precisely that.

The Student Healthcare Action Network works to create a just system of healthcare in the United States which meets the basic needs to all people, rather than excluding many and extorting the others. We find that Single Payer Universal Healthcare is the only system which can accomplish this goal. Using the methods of Nonviolent Direct Action, our individual chapters carry out actions and coordinate larger actions.

The Student Healthcare Action Network is made up of autonomous chapters on college and university campuses nationwide. Chapters plan and carry out their own actions of education and advocacy, as well as coordinate actions in which many different chapters participate. While each chapter determines the specifics of its own decision-making structure and the methods it uses, the basis for decision-making is modified consensus and the methods for action fall within the realm of Nonviolent Direct Action.

Various chapters are connected through our website and network newsletter, and also maintain contacts between individual chapters. For more information on joining a chapter or starting one where none exist, see our Find a Chapter section.