2020 Dems grapple with how to pay for 'Medicare for All'

[left-of-center2012]

Democratic presidential candidates trying to appeal to progressive voters with a call for “Medicare for All” are wrestling with the thorny question of how to pay for such a dramatic overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

Bernie Sanders, the chief proponent of Medicare for All, says such a remodel could cost up to $40 trillion over a decade. He’s been the most direct in talking about how he’d cover that eye-popping amount, including considering a tax hike on the middle class in exchange for healthcare without co-payments or deductibles — which, he contends, would ultimately cost Americans less than the current healthcare system.

His rivals who also support Medicare for All, however, have offered relatively few firm details so far about how they’d pay for a new government-run, single-payer system beyond raising taxes on top earners. As the health care debate dominates the early days of the Democratic primary, some experts say candidates won’t be able to duck the question for long.

Kamala Harris, who has repeatedly tried to clarify her position on Medicare for All, vowed this week she wouldn’t raise middle-class taxes to pay for a shift to single-payer coverage. The California senator told CNN that “part of it is going to have to be about Wall Street paying more.”

Full article at:
https://www.apnews.com/44abd4806d374aeeb60fa89560d1c107

[Mr.Bill]

1. I wish one of them would just say

"By taxing the living shit out of people who have so much money they wouldn't notice if we set fire to half of it."

[gtar100]

9. ++1

[saidsimplesimon]

2. It's a message before It is Time. imo

[Thekaspervote]

4. Oh indeed and I hope our candidates begin to see this

[saidsimplesimon]

5. Some will, imo

[House of Roberts]

3. Are we letting the corrupt corporations keep the money they're paying for employee insurance now?

Or are said corporations going to have to pay it to the employees?

I would love to get what my company pays for my health insurance in my check, even if it was taxed as income. I could easily pay for the coverage through Medicare with money left over. It's amazing how much less it costs when you take the profit leeches out of the equation. Plus I would KNOW I was fully covered for everything.

[LonePirate]

6. Transferring all current employer & employee paid premiums is a good start.

[FloridaBlues]

7. Wall street paying for some of M4A? I'd like to see that happen.

[emmaverybo]

8. Every single payer system in Europe gets funding through taxes, higher taxes. That is what

the Yellow Jackets in France are protesting. And it is not just the very rich who pay high taxes. We are bound to pay higher taxes, even if we tax billionaires 90 percent.

[gtar100]

10. What would be the difference between

how much in additional taxes people would have to pay and the amount they would personally save in not paying insurance premiums and deductibles.

I usually hear only about the additional taxes. Both Senators Sanders and Warren have talked about not having to pay premiums anymore but it gets brushed aside fairly quickly.

But that difference should be the deciding factor. Pay more in taxes and pay nothing in premiums and deductibles. Is there a net gain or loss?

Just focusing on the tax side of this issue is hyperbole meant to scare people away from a Medicare for All system.