Single-Payer Perspectives: ‘A Growing Moment’ Or ‘No Miracle Cure’
Opinion writers offer a variety of thoughts on single-payer health care systems in general and the current proposal put forth by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in specific.
The New York Times:
The Sanders Single-Payer Plan Is No Miracle Cure
Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced “Medicare for all” legislation, which would enroll all Americans into the nation’s Medicare program within four years. Senator Sanders, the Vermont independent, argues that his proposal would create a system that “works not just for millionaires and billionaires, but for all of us.” (Lanhee J. Chen and Micah Weinberg, 9/19)
San Francisco Chronicle:
A Growing Movement For Single-Payer Health Care
From a candidate who famously declared that single payer will “never ever come to pass” and branded it as offering everyone “a pony” to legislation — Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Senate Bill 1804, co-sponsored by a third of Senate Democrats, and Rep. John Conyers’ House Resolution 676 by half of House Democrats. What happened? A huge shift toward participatory democracy, with millions of people participating in rewriting what is possible and necessary for their lives. (RoseAnn DeMoro, 9/18)
San Jose Mercury News:
Sanders’ Medicare For All Bill Comes Up Short; Show Us The Money
Bernie Sanders talks big, but the record shows that in his 25 years in Congress he has failed to deliver on any of his ideological proposals. Expect the same from the independent Vermont senator’s ambitious Medicare for all plan. It’s impossible to take his single-payer plan seriously because it fails to address the single biggest issue: how to pay for it. (9/18)
USA Today:
Canadian Doctor To U.S.: Try Single-Payer Health Care Instead Of Trashing It
There’s a joke we sometimes tell in Canada: What’s a Canadian? An apologetic American with health care. It’s funny because we half-believe it’s true. The United States and Canada are about as similar as two countries get. But Canada has had a publicly funded, single-payer health care system in each of our provinces and territories since the 1960s. It works. Maybe it can work for you too. (Danielle Martin, 9/18)
