The eye-popping cost of Medicare for All

[dpibel]

158. About 11% more than we currently spend

Baseline: Current total US spending on health care is $3.5 trillion a year. That's $35 trillion per decade.

Uninsured American human beings under age 65 in 2018 = 11%.

So if you cover everyone, instead of just 89%, your cost should go up right around 11%.

Why would it be substantially different?

You could, I suppose, argue that those 11% uninsured are far more sickly, so they'll bump the price up. Even if that were true, you're still looking at small change (in the great big scheme of things).

But, more likely, those 11% are poor. Or, maybe, young, healthy, and stupid--that is, after all, the demographic that most hated the ACA mandate.

In any case, there's not some deep mystery here. The US spends $3.5 trillion a year on health care. Paying for 100% of people instead of 89%? There's a pretty small range on how catastrophic that will be. (Spoiler alert: Not very.)