Left-wing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed supports universal health care through a single-payer "Medicare for All" system that would cover every American "from cradle to grave." His wife, psychiatrist Sarah Jukaku, does not take Medicare or any other insurance plan, forcing her patients to pay out of pocket for the services they receive. She also appears to have scrubbed a portion of the "Frequently Asked Questions" page on her website making clear that she does not accept insurance.
Jukaku, who has a medical degree from Columbia University and a masters from the University of Oxford, worked as co-chief of psychiatry at University of Michigan Health—which does accept Medicare—before starting her own Ann Arbor, Mich.-based practice, Mind Work Psychiatry, in 2024. The following March, Jukaku opted out of Medicare, records show, meaning she cannot bill the program and requires Medicare patients to pay out of pocket. The same goes for patients with private insurance plans, though they can often submit bills to their providers and recoup some of the costs.
Jukaku’s private practice and her financial arrangement with her patients stand in stark contrast to the vision El-Sayed has articulated on the campaign trail about the way the health care system should work.
He has argued that "your healthcare shouldn't depend on who signs your paycheck" and that "we can and must guarantee healthcare from cradle to grave." Under Jukaku's insurance policies, a prospective patient's ability to receive psychiatric treatment does depend on who signs his or her paycheck—both because low-income patients are almost certainly unable to pay for her services out of pocket and because those with pricier employer-provided plans are more likely to be reimbursed for a portion of out-of-network psychiatric care. El-Sayed has also expressed concern that people with "serious mental illness" regularly "fall out of care" because of "transitions in health insurance."
There are indications that Jukaku is aware of the tension between her livelihood and her husband’s political rhetoric. The "What to expect" page on her website directs prospective patients to "read the FAQ section" before booking a consultation, "noting that Dr. Jukaku is out of network for all insurance companies." A Google preview of the section shows the question, "Do you accept my insurance? No." But it's no longer on Jukaku's FAQ page, indicating that she has removed it.
Jukaku's verified profile on "Psychology Today," a directory through which psychiatrists can advertise their services, also appears to have been amended. A Google preview for the profile states, "Mind Work psychiatry is NOT in network with any insurance company and operates as a fee for service practice." The quote is no longer listed on the profile.
El-Sayed has discussed his wife's occupation and lamented that it is not normally well-compensated. In a 2020 interview with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, he said "my wife's a psychiatrist, and we talk about the fact that a lot of folks don't do psychiatry because it's not as well recompensed as other practices simply because it's undervalued in the system." In the same interview, he cited "serious mental illness" and "death by suicide" as reasons to build a "system" that "recognizes" the importance of treating "mental illness."
Neither El-Sayed's campaign nor Jukaku responded to requests for comment.
Jukaku specializes in "anxiety disorders," "psychosis," and "culturally informed care," among other "areas of interest," according to her website. She has helped inform El-Sayed's views on Medicare for All. In addition to forewords from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wa.), El-Sayed's 2021 book, Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide, includes the acknowledgment, "Abdul is deeply grateful for Dr. Sarah Jukaku's never-ending patience and support."
Jukaku is also featured in some of El-Sayed's campaign materials. In a January video posted to Instagram, Jukaku recounted needing to take leave as a medical resident after the birth of her daughter. She credited the union with helping her "navigate that process."
"To be a protected working class is important," she said.
El-Sayed, like Jukaku, attended medical school at Columbia, though he did not complete a residency and has never been licensed to practice medicine. He has nonetheless referred to himself as a "physician" on the campaign trail, even as his "hands-on experience treating patients appears to be a short clinical rotation called a sub-internship at a small hospital … where he said his 'job was to be the, like, worst doctor on the team' and he was 'cosplaying a doctor,'" Politico reported.
El-Sayed has pushed Medicare for All since he ran for governor in 2018. He voluntarily released his tax returns during that campaign, saying, "You should show everybody where all your money is." They showed that El-Sayed and Jukaku earned $237,063 in adjusted gross income in 2016.
El-Sayed has not released his tax returns while running for Senate, but it's clear that he and Jukaku are much wealthier than they were when El-Sayed first ran for statewide office. In addition to Jukaku's private practice, El-Sayed was paid tens of thousands of dollars for speeches in 2024, including to the left-wing Ford Foundation in New York, and the couple owns two rental properties, one in Ann Arbor and one in Bangalore, India, with a combined value of up to $750,000, according to El-Sayed's 2025 financial disclosure, which, unlike his tax returns, reports income in broad ranges rather than precise amounts.
El-Sayed filed an extension allowing him to withhold his most recent financial disclosure until after his August primary election against Rep. Haley Stevens (D., Mich.). El-Sayed said during a recent primary debate that he sought the extension not to "avoid transparency" but rather because "taxes get complicated."