Medicare for all received a shot of adrenaline the other day as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wants to be president, reintroduced legislation intended to provide health coverage to all Americans and put private insurers out of business.
As usual, conservatives responded by mischaracterizing and outright lying about the proposal, and by framing the debate by asking the wrong question: How will you pay for it?
That’s an important consideration, to be sure. But it’s not where the conversation needs to begin.
A more appropriate question to start things off is: How many people will it cover?
The failure of U.S. policymakers to use this as the basic premise of healthcare reform is why tens of millions of Americans remain uninsured, and why this country pays more for healthcare than any of its economic peers.
As usual, conservatives responded by mischaracterizing and outright lying about the proposal, and by framing the debate by asking the wrong question: How will you pay for it?
That’s an important consideration, to be sure. But it’s not where the conversation needs to begin.
A more appropriate question to start things off is: How many people will it cover?
The failure of U.S. policymakers to use this as the basic premise of healthcare reform is why tens of millions of Americans remain uninsured, and why this country pays more for healthcare than any of its economic peers.
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