Progressives have increasingly coalesced around a single-payer, Medicare-for-All system as the goal for American health care. And there is one piece of our healthcare system where single-payer is the especially obvious solution: long-term care.

Long-term care encompasses everything from nursing homes to home health aides to rehabilitation for injuries or disabilities. It includes all forms of care that people need when they can no longer care for themselves due to old age, chronic illness, or disability. Thirteen million people in the United States require long-term care. About 60 percent are seniors; the rest are younger people with disabilities.

Long-term care is extremely expensive. The United States spends upward of $330 billion each year on long-term care, accounting for around 14 percent of total national healthcare expenses. The median cost of staying in a nursing home is over $90,000 per year. A home health aide typically costs at least $45,000 each year.