Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., specified Tuesday how he would pay for his “Medicare for All”program, which critics have lambasted for its cost and impact on the federal budget.
While campaigning in New Hampshire, he responded to an audience member’s question about payment by saying he would likely raise payroll taxes on employers as well as income taxes on high-income earners.
“It would cost you and ordinary Americans a lot less than you are currently spending on average,” he said before explaining his payment method.
“What it will probably end up looking like is a payroll tax on employers, an increase in income tax in a progressive way for ordinary people — with a significant deductible for low-income people who pay nothing for it,” he said.
House Democrats make push for western Michigan seat that’s long been a GOP stronghold
Maryland ballot measure aims to eliminate the state’s last GOP-held House district
Trump sidelines sweeping Russia sanctions as GOP allies warn pressure on Putin is slipping
Trump pushback, Biden ‘disaster’ and gender surprise: 5 key moments from Kansas Senate debate
Michigan Senate race draws presidential-level star power in final stretch
Antifa supporter charged with stealing GOP campaign signs in NY race to replace Stefanik
Supreme Court blocks use of student IDs as voter identification in New Hampshire
Blanche won’t rule out DOJ blocking election certification in ‘doomsday’ scenario
Utah man charged with attempted hate crime after alleged threat to ‘blow up’ synagogue
Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost US fuel refining capacity at Iowa rally
‘I basically snapped’: New Jersey mayor charges at resident during chaotic council meeting
Old Social Media Post Comes Back to Haunt Virginia Democrat After She’s Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges
New York Democrat Accused of Attacking Opponent’s Mother Inside Bathroom: ‘Not Fit to Serve’
White House Wants Karoline Leavitt’s Help Finding New Press Secretary After Katie Zacharia Disaster
Watch: Socialists and Democrats Trigger Chaotic Brawl in European Nation’s Parliament
He also said his campaign purposefully didn’t put out a detailed account of his payment plan because it would “engender enormous debate.”
Sanders was just one of many progressive, 2020 candidates to advance “Medicare for All” and other policies, prompting more vigorous debate about socialism in the United States.
The proposal has received varying cost estimates from different organizations. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, one Medicare for All proposal from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. would cost about $28 trillion – $32 trillion over a decade.
The American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, estimated the Green New Deal’s provision for universal health care would cost $36 trillion, with $260,000 in cost per household.
House Democrats make push for western Michigan seat that’s long been a GOP stronghold
Maryland ballot measure aims to eliminate the state’s last GOP-held House district
Trump sidelines sweeping Russia sanctions as GOP allies warn pressure on Putin is slipping
Trump pushback, Biden ‘disaster’ and gender surprise: 5 key moments from Kansas Senate debate
Michigan Senate race draws presidential-level star power in final stretch
Antifa supporter charged with stealing GOP campaign signs in NY race to replace Stefanik
Supreme Court blocks use of student IDs as voter identification in New Hampshire
Blanche won’t rule out DOJ blocking election certification in ‘doomsday’ scenario
Utah man charged with attempted hate crime after alleged threat to ‘blow up’ synagogue
Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost US fuel refining capacity at Iowa rally
‘I basically snapped’: New Jersey mayor charges at resident during chaotic council meeting
Old Social Media Post Comes Back to Haunt Virginia Democrat After She’s Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges
New York Democrat Accused of Attacking Opponent’s Mother Inside Bathroom: ‘Not Fit to Serve’
White House Wants Karoline Leavitt’s Help Finding New Press Secretary After Katie Zacharia Disaster
Watch: Socialists and Democrats Trigger Chaotic Brawl in European Nation’s Parliament
Another study from the Mercatus Institute, typically perceived as leaning right on fiscal issues, similarly predicted in 2018 that the cost would reach $32 trillion in 10 years but forsaw a scenario in which the nation could actually save more than $2 trillion on health expenditures.
An alternative scenario, accounting for less effective cost controls, would result in more than $3 trillion in additional costs. Mercatus also claimed that its study’s author thought the assumptions showing cost-savings may be unreasonable.
When Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma commented on the issue in April, she described the program as “the biggest threat to the American health care system.”
“What we’re talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program,” she said. Her concerns echoed those of others who worried about the impact on existing health plans.
House Democrats make push for western Michigan seat that’s long been a GOP stronghold
Maryland ballot measure aims to eliminate the state’s last GOP-held House district
Trump sidelines sweeping Russia sanctions as GOP allies warn pressure on Putin is slipping
Trump pushback, Biden ‘disaster’ and gender surprise: 5 key moments from Kansas Senate debate
Michigan Senate race draws presidential-level star power in final stretch
Antifa supporter charged with stealing GOP campaign signs in NY race to replace Stefanik
Supreme Court blocks use of student IDs as voter identification in New Hampshire
Blanche won’t rule out DOJ blocking election certification in ‘doomsday’ scenario
Utah man charged with attempted hate crime after alleged threat to ‘blow up’ synagogue
Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost US fuel refining capacity at Iowa rally
‘I basically snapped’: New Jersey mayor charges at resident during chaotic council meeting
Old Social Media Post Comes Back to Haunt Virginia Democrat After She’s Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges
New York Democrat Accused of Attacking Opponent’s Mother Inside Bathroom: ‘Not Fit to Serve’
White House Wants Karoline Leavitt’s Help Finding New Press Secretary After Katie Zacharia Disaster
Watch: Socialists and Democrats Trigger Chaotic Brawl in European Nation’s Parliament
Sanders and others have championed universal health care as a human rights issue — citing the U.S.’s high health care costs and lack of coverage compared to other industrialized nations.
Story cited here.
