- Senator Bernie Sanders held his second speech at George Washington University for his 2020 Presidential Campaign.
- The Medicare-for-all policy would need four years to implement.
- During its first-year children would be eligible, year two would allow those 45 and over to join, year three would enable those 35 and over and by year four it would be completely eligible to all Americans.
WASHINGTON – During a speech at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) explained his exact plan for Medicare-for-all. Sanders originally brought this idea up during his 2016 campaign. Since then, the proposal has become embraced by fellow Democrats but not in the way Sanders envisioned it.
Other Democrats have renamed the policy in various ways. What was once Medicare-for-all is now Medicare for America, Medicare X, Choose Medicare Act, and Medicare for all who want it. None of these variations follow the exact terms of Medicare-for-all, which is what Sanders wanted to clarify in his speech.
Medicare-For-All Policy
Sen. Bernie Sanders original policy for the Medicare-for-all Act is the same one he is pitching for his current campaign. The only difference is an added coverage for long-term benefits for Americans with disabilities. Under the proposal, Americans would all take part in one government-run insurance plan. All private insurance companies would become obsolete.
Sanders speaks out about the greed that has come from the health care industry believing it is now profit over patient.
“The debate we are currently having in this campaign and all over this country has nothing to do with health care but has everything to do with the greed and profits of the health care industry,” said Sanders at GWU.
All emergency room visits, doctors’ visits, and copayments would be covered under the Medicare-for-all plan. All out of pocket expenses aside from prescription drugs would be of no expense to the patient. The proposed cost to put the policy into effect would be $30-$40 trillion over the span of a decade.
A poll given by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 56% of Americans are in favor of Medicare-for-all or the idea of one single government-run health insurance plan. However, ElectionOdds.com and many more want to know more about how the plan could work and what would happen to all private insurance companies.
Sanders is so passionate about his stance on health insurance that he’s urged his fellow Democrat opponents to give back any donations made by private health care companies to their campaigns.
“I am calling on every Democratic candidate in this election to join me in rejecting money from the insurance and drug companies,” said Sanders.
It has been reported that the Sanders campaign has accepted $2700 of donations from private healthcare that has yet to be returned. His campaign has said they will return the donations without a problem.
“The fight against Medicare-for-all today is not a new development,” said Sanders. “If we are going to break the stranglehold of corporate interests over the health care needs of the American people, we have got to confront a Washington culture that is corrupt, that puts profits before people. The time is now to stand with the American people and guarantee health care to all people.”