Kerby Anderson

This month 15 Democratic senators signed on to what has been dubbed “Medicare for All.” The bill was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and is an attempt to promote nationalized health care by linking it to a relatively popular governmental program. The name sounds like something created and tested in a focus group. “Medicare for All” sounds nice, but it could just as easily be called “VA for All.” But with all the problems at government-run VA hospitals, it doesn’t exactly have the same feel. Let’s state the obvious. The U.S. Senate is not going to pass a bill that creates a single-payer plan for universal health-care. The House of Representatives is even less likely to pass such a bill. The plan is an attempt to provide an election year alternative to the Republican slogan of “repeal and replace Obamacare.” The phrase “Medicare for All” has a nice ring to it, until you begin to count the costs. Two blue states have tried smaller versions of “Medicare for All.” Vermont implemented “Green Mountain Care” in 2011. The state eventually had to abandon this single payer plan because it would cost billions more than the state could allocate. California also considered a single-payer plan. Even though Democrats have significant majorities in both the Senate and Assembly, they had to kill the proposal because the cost would be more than double the state budget. Selling the “Medicare for All” plan to the American voters will be next to impossible. The cost estimates are enough to sink the plan. But also consider that people who are currently on Medicare would be forced to pay more in taxes and get no benefit (other than what they already receive). Right now, Americans complain that they can’t keep their doctor or insurance plan. Under this proposal they would have even less freedom than they currently have to choose their doctor or hospital. “Medicare for All” is a really bad idea.