Sanders: I'm 'absolutely' introducing single-payer healthcare bill

[kristopher]

Sanders: I'm 'absolutely' introducing single-payer healthcare bill
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 07/30/17 10:42 AM EDT 1,275

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday that he will “absolutely” introduce legislation on single-payer healthcare now that the Senate GOP’s bill to repeal ObamaCare has failed.

“Of course we are, we’re tweaking the final points of the bill and we’re figuring out how we can mount a national campaign to bring people together,” Sanders told Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union.

Sanders promised to introduce a “Medicare for All” proposal once the debate over repealing ObamaCare ended. He is one of several progressive lawmakers who back the healthcare model that has divided Democratic lawmakers.

It’s unclear exactly when he will introduce the legislation. The Senate has two weeks remaining in sessions...

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/344520-sanders-im-absolutely-introducing-single-payer-healthcare-bill

Link to tweet

[lapucelle]

1. John Conyers introduced a single payer

"medicare for all" healthcare bill (HR 676) back in January. Did Tapper ask Sanders if this will be a companion bill or is Jake one of the overpaid "pundits" blissfully unaware that there is already a House bill with 115 co-sponsors?

[kristopher]

2. The time is ripe for a good public debate.

People are paying attention and they've immediate, first hand knowledge of the deal-killing problems associated with the alternatives.
I'm personally convinced that there is more support right now for single payer than any other alternative.

[BigmanPigman]

3. Yes, and they'd better move on it NOW!

This is their big chance and they'd better not blow it. They have to push for it hard and strong and not let this opportunity pass them by. They have to be one LOUD, united voice!

[murielm99]

4. He introduced it in 2003,

for the first time. Conyers introduces this year after year.

Things are more complicated that merely introducing a house resolution year after year, or than Sanders grandstanding with a bill of his own, a bill that stands no chance of passing.

Conyers is just about the last person who wants to destroy Obama's legacy.

I think we all know that the ACA was crafted carefully, but it is just a beginning, and needs much change and tweaking in order to work. Take a look at the history of Canada's health care.

We do not need some liberal version of repeal and replace. We need to work with what we have.

[lapucelle]

5. To be fair to Conyers, it's not a resolution.

Its legislation. Similarly, Jim McDermott has introduced a single payer bill every year since 1993. My question was simply whether or not Jake Tapper informed his audience about these facts.

Your point about whether or not a single payer/medicare for all system is a better way to deliver universal health care than working through the existing ACA is something that needs to be very carefully considered.

Something tells me that the current infotainment industry that touts itself as "journalism" is more interested in boosting ratings by stoking divisions than in promoting a serious policy discussion.

Policy is boring. That's why we saw endless hours of Trump rallies on the "news" last summer, while the Democrats' policy speeches and round table discussions received virtually no air time.

[kristopher]

6. Introducing well crafted, legislation that solves a major social problem isn't grandstanding.

It's doing the job of a legislator.

You say that "I think we all know that the ACA was crafted carefully", and I agree that is true; but not in the way you mean it.
It was an act of cobbling together a known failure of a Frankenstein policy monster that was designed to primarily support about 6 major corporate interest groups. We KNOW what works and what doesn't. I understand the political excuses that were exploited, but as Trump's election demonstrates, the halfway nature of the policy was a betrayal of the people themselves. That is not only political suicide, but a form of actual, real murder of the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

[murielm99]

7. You can look at Canada's system,

which grew and was perfected over time. You can look at Great Britain, or other European countries. They have all grown and been changed over time. I think it is best to look to Canada for a health care solution that works for North America.

Who is this "we" who knows what works? I don't see any Frankenstein policy monsters, or whatever other clever phraseology you want to use. I see Democrats working toward a health care solution for everyone.

How do you know that what BS is coming up with is well crafted? Based on his past statements and actions, his "well crafted legislation" will be short on details, and "borrowed" from someone else's existing ideas.

[kristopher]

8. By looking at the history of those & other nations we DO KNOW what works and what doesn't.

It's bunk to propose that we have to follow some incremental political path just because they meandered to finish line decades ago. The only obstacle we face is an artificially fractured electorate engineered by those who are raping the economy.