Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What Is Single Payer? Why Now? And More Questions About Sanders' New Bill Answered
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday unveiled his long-anticipated legislation to create a national single-payer health system, which has become a rallying cry for some in the Democratic Party just as Republicans struggle to coalesce around a health plan of their own. (Armour, 9/13)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rolled out his 鈥淢edicare for all鈥 health-care bill to much fanfare on Wednesday. While the bill has no chance of passing in the current GOP-led Congress, it is a marker of where the Democratic Party is heading.聽Here are five things to know about the plan. (Sulivan, 9/13)
In most of the developed world, everybody鈥檚 health care is paid for by the government. In the U.S., for years that idea has been relegated to the far-left edge of politics under the name of single payer. Last year, Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont called it 鈥淢edicare for All鈥 and put it at the forefront of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now, with liberals revved up by their so-far successful fight to protect Obamacare from President Donald Trump and a Republican Congress, Sanders鈥檚 idea is getting some support. The legislation he introduced today would build on Medicare, the hugely popular insurance program for those over 65, to provide coverage to all Americans. (Edney and Tracer, 9/13)
Bernie Sanders' new bill in the Senate calls for an overhaul of American health care. The Medicare for All Act, introduced today by the Vermont Democrat, proposes a single-payer system. (Ryssdal, 9/13)
On Wednesday, liberal and conservative senators proposed 鈥渞adically different鈥 plans for overhauling American health care. ... One key point the two plans have in common: Neither has much chance at actually becoming the law of the land, at least for now. (Rosenberg and Rainey, 9/13)