{"id":11585,"date":"2019-04-11T10:48:37","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T17:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=11585"},"modified":"2019-04-11T10:48:39","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T17:48:39","slug":"how-will-you-pay-for-it-bernie-sanders-tackles-key-question-on-medicare-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2019\/04\/11\/how-will-you-pay-for-it-bernie-sanders-tackles-key-question-on-medicare-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"‘How Will You Pay for It?’ Bernie Sanders Tackles Key Question on Medicare for All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 10, 2019 by Common Dreams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Under every single one of these options the average American family will save thousands of dollars a year because it will no longer be writing large checks to private health insurance companies.”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

byJake Johnson, staff writer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks while introducing healthcare legislation titled the “Medicare for All Act of 2019” with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on April 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders is not ducking the key question constantly posed to Medicare for All supporters by journalists, fellow members of Congress<\/a>, and critics: “How will you pay for it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“‘How are you going to pay for it?’ That is the question that bookends nearly every media conversation that takes place on Medicare for All. The straightforward answer is, we already are.” 
\u2014Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a white paper<\/a> (pdf) released Wednesday alongside the 2020 contender’s updated and improved Medicare for All legislation<\/a>, Sanders’ office outlined a number of possible funding mechanisms for the comprehensive bill and detailed the enormous savings the U.S. would reap by transitioning to single-payer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Every major industrialized nation on Earth has made healthcare a right, provided universal coverage to all, and achieved far better health outcomes in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality rates\u2014all while spending far less per capita than we do,” the paper states. “Please do not tell us that the United States of America, the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, cannot do the same.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper lists a number of policy changes that could help raise revenue for Medicare for All, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n