Interview: Bernie Sanders on the role of insurance companies under "Medicare for All"

Interview Video at Link


April 10, 2019, 7:09 AM

Excerpt:

Bernie Sanders is leading the polls in the packed field of 2020 Democratic candidates and while it's more likely to see him out on the campaign trail these days, he's back in the halls of Congress Wednesday to unveil an updated version of one of his signature proposals, "Medicare for All."

Once dismissed as too radical by many Democrats, it's now central to how the party talks about health care and has become a common refrain of the Democratic presidential campaign. Four of his opponents in the race for president are co-sponsoring his universal health care plan in the Senate. But what is Medicare for All?

"It guarantees, like every other major country on Earth, health care to every man, woman and child in this country," Sanders told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe.

Under the Sanders plan, all Americans would be covered by a government-backed program like Medicare. All necessary health care would be covered -- but at a cost. Some put the price tag at $25 to $32 trillion over the next decade.

"What's expensive and what's unsustainable is the current health care system," Sanders said of the potential cost. "We are spending twice as much per capita as any other nation."

Sanders said Medicare for All would "get rid of insurance companies and drug companies making billions of dollars in profit every single year."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-2020-on-medicare-for-all-role-of-insurance-companies/