Bernie Is Pushing for Nothing Less Than Medicare for All, Again
Bernie Sanders introduced a new Medicare for All Act today in the Senate that would guarantee universal health benefits with no means-testing or exclusions. It’s the kind of bill Sanders would fight for as president.
Doctors review PET scans of a patient being treated at the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins August 15, 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland.Win McNamee / Getty
Today, Bernie Sanders introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2019 into the Senate with fourteen co-sponsors. The single-payer proposal presents a clear alternative both to Donald Trump’s attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and the Democratic leadership’s stubborn insistence on reforming it incrementally.
As with its 2017 version, the bill would cover all US residents under a single, public insurer, replacing the patchwork system we have today. It eliminates all premiums, co-pays, and deductibles while giving patients complete freedom of choice in doctor and hospital by doing away with network restrictions. And it covers a wide range of services including dental, vision, hearing, and reproductive care.
The new bill goes further than its predecessor: it now covers home- and community-based long-term care, which will allow people with disabilities to receive care at home without fear of financial bankruptcy or being forced into an institutional setting.
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