"How will you pay for it?" is not the hard question with Medicare For All

[Hortensis]

9. :) But how will we pay for what's not included

is more of the same question. And what will not be included when there is only one centralized plan subject to changes by the party in power? It doesn't even begin to be simple at all.

There are about as many MfA and Medicare for America plans out there as there are candidates now. For an example, Mayor Pete uses the term MfA, but diverges very substantially from Sanders' radical plan forcing the entire nation on one system, as do most of the candidates now.

Particularly in not doing away with private insurance entirely, as Sanders wants. 160,000,000 Americans have workplace insurance, and a majority, most of them registered voters, don't want to give it up. As was shown by the swift, negative reaction that just caused Kamala Harris to walk back her comment that she was ready to see the end of private insurance companies. And that's when almost no one is listening yet. You're so right that what people will accept is a big question.

Buttigieg:

"If the framework we're using is Medicare, a lot of people who have Medicare also have Medicare supplements, Medicare Advantage, something like that," Buttigieg added. "So if we want to make Medicare available to everybody, whether it's as a public option to buy in or simply establishing that as how the payer structure works in this country, that's going to be the center of gravity."

And if we need a road, a gradual way to get there, then we can start with Medicare for all who want it by making some version of Medicare available on the exchanges for people to opt into, as part of the pathway to Medicare for all so that you can try before you buy so to speak as a country."

He seems to be suggesting tax dollars would pay for what would be a standard package of Medicare benefits for all, but extra coverages would be available for purchase through private insurance companies. As Medicare is now.

I'm not crazy about that. I much prefer the Medicare for America plan for universal coverage. It allows all who want to go on a comprehensive government program to do so, with assistance for those who can't afford the deductibles and others who can afford to pay in somewhat doing so. While those who like what they have now would be free to stay with it. It's expected that over time by far most would migrate to the national health insurance, but choice would remain.