MEDICARE FOR ALL IS ASKED BY JAVITS: April 14, 1970!
Background: Jacob Javits had an interesting evolution of political party affiliations over the years, as has New York over the years, too. He was first elected to the House on the Republican and Liberal lines (yes, that's correct!), then NY Attorney General as a Republican, then Senate as a Republican (twice) and re-elected on the Liberal line twice.
WASHINGTON, April 14— Senator Jacob K. Javits proposed today a national health insurance program that would extend Medicare benefits to people of all ages by 1973.
The program would be financed by employer‐employee contributions up to a maximum of 3.3 per cent of annual wages, plus a subsidy by the Federal Government, which would increase from $3.5‐billion in 1971 to $22.7‐billion by 1974, according to the New York Republican.
Under the bill, which was introduced today, the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare would be authorized to delegate administration of the benefits to state agencies and to contract with existing private health insurance carriers to administer benefits on a regional basis.
“Although we spend more money than any other country in the world on health care, the quality of care remains uneven, and for many particularly the poor—it is abysmally low, if not nonexistent,” Mr. Javits said.
The bill was in preparation by the Senator's staff for more than a year and was drafted after consultations with Governor Rockefeller and Wilbur J. Cohen, a former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.
https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/15/archives/medicare-for-all-is-asked-by-javits.html?searchResultPosition=1
= new reply since forum marked as read
... right? 
... co-opted by contemporary politicians who take-credit and present his ideas to the public as their own.
All I'm trying to say is that I think that knowing the history is valuable, and giving credit where credit is due could go a long way toward advancing the ideas and make them more palatable by demonstrating that the ideas are not new and have been around for quite a while.
More details than I've seen about the latest versions of Medicare for All plans I've seen in years. Oh wait, health care as a human right is supposed to be a new radical idea that nobody ever thought of or said out loud until a few years ago, let alone a Republican in 1970. Excuse me, I just have to 
for a sec.
But, this asswipe got to making his rounds, “Operation COFFEECUP.”
https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8141205
Goes back to President Franklin Roosevelt.
