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Senator Sanders Offers Medicare-for-All Amendment in Senate
Joining with Sanders, I-Vt., in co-sponsoring the measure, known as Senate Amendment 2837, were Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Roland Burris, D-Ill. Other senators, including Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, have previously declared their support for single-payer health reform. The vote on the measure could take place in the next few days.
"This amendment starts from the premise that health care is a human right, and that every citizen, rich or poor, should have access to health care, just as every citizen has access to the fire department, the police or public schools," a statement from Sanders' office said.
The single-payer approach embodied in Sanders' amendment stands in sharp contrast to the reform models being offered by the Senate and House leadership and the White House. Those bills would enhance the central role of private health insurers.
Sanders' amendment, on the other hand, would replace the present crazy-quilt array of for-profit insurers with a single nonprofit, public financing agency, thereby slashing administrative waste in the system and redirecting the savings to clinical care.
Dr. Quentin Young, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program, said, "This historic move by Sen. Sanders and his colleagues - it's the first time single payer will be voted upon on the floor of the Senate - is yet another sign of the strong and growing support for an improved Medicare for All among the public and the medical profession.
"In contrast, the Senate leadership's deeply flawed bill doesn't expand coverage until 2014, would still leave 24 million uninsured, and would place no effective constraints on exploding costs," he said. "Sanders amendment would cover everyone from the start and allow for effective cost-containment.
"Physicians and patients alike stand to gain enormously from the adoption of this measure," Young said. "No effort should be spared to ask every senator to vote yes on Senate Amendment 2837."
Sanders' measure, which is largely patterned after a bill he introduced last March, the American Health Security Act (S. 703), would cover all of the 46 million Americans who currently lack coverage and improve benefits for all Americans by eliminating co-pays and deductibles and restoring free choice of physician.
Highlights of the amendment include the following:
* Patients go to any doctor or hospital of their choice.
* Comprehensive benefits, including coverage for dental, mental health, and prescription drugs.
* By eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private, investor-owned insurance industry, along with the burdensome paperwork imposed on physicians, hospitals and other providers, the plan saves at least $400 billion annually - enough money to provide comprehensive, quality care to all.
* Community health centers are fully funded, giving the 60 million Americans now living in rural and underserved areas access to care.
* To address the critical shortage of primary care physicians and dentists, the bill provides resources for the National Health Service Corps to train an additional 24,000 health professionals.
* The program is paid for by combining current sources of government health spending into a single fund with modest new payroll and income taxes amounting to less than what most businesses and people now pay for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.
* While federally funded, the program is to be administered by the states.
Sanders, who serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, is a longtime advocate of fundamental health care reform.
To urge your Senator(s) to sponsor this amendment, go here.
19 Comments so far
Show All"In contrast, the Senate leadership's deeply flawed bill doesn't expand coverage until 2014, would still leave 24 million uninsured, and would place no effective constraints on exploding costs,"
Well America, at least your Democrats are good for a laugh :)
Don't get sick until 2014, be lucky enough to be amongst the tiny minority that will get the new insurance, and hope that you still have a house to mortgage because the plan will still not cover the total cost...Great plan, isn't it!?
If you had elected, say the Green party, they would have enacted, well what we have, universal health insurance.
We pay half as much, and we never have to worry about finding the cash to get medical care. Plus we get better service. Good luck my friends, I feel for you. (I can imagine that trying to raise money for your own health care when you are sick can be a little difficult)
Yes, with my Silver level of coverage only covering an estimated 70% of costs, I will be able to "afford" health insurance, I just won't be able to afford to use it to get health care. The only difference from my situation now is that the government will mandate I buy insurance.
Democrats will criminalize the uninsured, and force taxpayers to pay for a program for 5 years before the program actually starts.
The lesser of two evils keeps getting more evil.
Who is this "Sanders" guy? Sounds like some kind of pinko.
I trust Harry Reid to ride to the rescue and use some procedural hanky-panky to prevent this amendment from coming to a vote.
But if it does reach the floor, it goes down 82-18.
Stay healthy, all.
Recently the AARP has stated that the "Health Reform Bill" will not diminish Medicare services. Baloney!
AARP is in competition with Medicare services such as Kelseycare Advantage. KA directly receives Federal funding for its program, AARP does not because it is a middleman between a private health insurance company and the insured.
Nothing in the "Health Reform Bill" will prevent the Federal Government from cutting, even severely cutting the funding of programs such as KA.
I have no doubt that the perennial liars in the White House and Congress will pay for their "Health Deform Paradise" by gutting Medicare Advantage programs which today serve an estimated 10 million persons. It is terribly sad that the Republicans are partially correct on this score while the Democrats spread lies upon lies.
When the cuts are done all Medicare Advantage programs will have to increase their co-pay's dramatically.
Way to go, Bernie!!
The way to go Senator Sanders from Vermont.Its about time someone spoke up for the working person. Healthcare for all,
they are the ones thats building this country, they are the ones fighting for this country, they are the ones dying for this country. they deserve something, besides six feet in the ground.
If any of you are supporters of pretty boy Boheiner from Ohio, get rid of the jerk, he's nothing but trouble, has NO ideas of his own, on criticizes everything. No sense of anything, He's a real JERK
Scorpio, Boehner comes from a district that could really use single-payer. It is a poor, mostly rural district. Why in god's name they keep voting someone in who has no interest in their interest is beyond me. Must be the water in the Southern Ohio.
Pretty boy Boehner's state has received more stimulus funds than most of the states in the Union and he voted against taking any of the stimulus, good thing his governor didn't listen to him. When will Ohio voters get rid of him.
And as for Leibermen what a piece of work he is, he will go wherever he will benefit most for himself. Conn. where are your supporters, where is your strength, he certainly isn't for you.Get rid of the jerk.
Right. Medicare-for-all. Because previous healthcare entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security have worked SOOOO well in the past.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Fraud
I like how the article fails to mention how little traction single payer will ever have with the average American. How many times will people try to stick America's capitalist square peg into a socialist hole before people will realize that it's just never going to happen. There are sociological and cultural reasons that make single-payer a virtual impossibility in the U.S. Not that anyone follows the constitution anymore, but it could be argued that under the 10th Amendment, the government has not the power to mandate health insurance. Only state governments would have that power.
And of course the current healthcare bill is a feeding trough for insurance companies; these people buy government. Money = power, and they've got both. Our entire political process is corrupt, and our national discourse is putrid, rotten and polarized. Something we need far more than universal healthcare is lifetime term limits for senators and congresspeople, campaign finance reform, and the end to huge welfare entitlement programs like medicare and social security that simply become liquidity-pots for short-sighted politicians.
I am excited to see how Palin, Bachman, and the tea-partiers spin this one, though. Will they call it "nazi-care" or just bring back "rationed care" because it sounds more scientific? My guess is they'll put a communist spin on it to be sure it dies... something like ComradeCare.
There is one glaring problem with Sen. Sanders amendment. It makes too much sense. We have to keep in mind who we are depending upon to give us real reform--the Congress. That in itself should give even the stoutest optimist pause.
Senator Bernie Sanders does NOT propose Medicare for All, so it's wrong to describe it as such. Take a look at its comparison to Medicare for All (H.R. 676):
http://www.medicareforall.org/pages/HR676_and_S703
I suggest that we want and need one health insurance plan, Medicare for All, not an inefficient substitute that gives us up to 56 health insurance plans (states + D.C. + 5 territories). Take a look at the link and decide for yourself.
- Bob Haiducek, Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate
"We pay half as much, and we never have to worry about finding the cash to get medical care. Plus we get better service. Good luck my friends, I feel for you. (I can imagine that trying to raise money for your own health care when you are sick can be a little difficult)"
I don't know in which country you reside, jlocke, but you could be in any one of 26 countries. Those are free-market countries, folks, just like ours.
Americans who live and work in those other countries can tell you what good care at half-price is, such as in these eleven countries:
www.medicareforall.org/pages/Real_Life_Stories#other
Americans who are among the 750,000 who left the U.S. in 2007 to obtain good care at a decent prices would also be glad to tell you about health care in the U.S. (Connect the dots: that's a whole lot of health care professionals' jobs who are being negatively impacted.)
www.medicareforall.org/pages/Medical_Tourism
Let's see: we could get more, pay less, and cover everyone. How's that for a deal:
www.medicareforall.org
In the meantime, the U.S. Congress is having the wrong debate and is preparing to make things worse. Much, much worse.
U.S. Congress fails again to do what all other free-market countries completed over 30 years ago.
www.medicareforall.org/pages/World_View#worldactivity
The U.S. will continue its pitiful health care performance.
www.medicareforall.org/pages/Performance
where people die unnecessarily every five minutes.
www.medicareforall.org/pages/Real_People
- Bob Haiducek, Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate
Senator Sanders, as of this morning, still has ZERO cosponsors for his bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S00703:@@@P
If he gets any more than 10 votes in support of his amendment, ___ (You can fill in the blank, based on whatever your perspective is.)
Bob Haiducek, Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate
Thank you, Bob, for the site, for taking a lead on this. There is a lot of respect for Sen. Sanders, but I am not so impressed with his call for single payer, when in the same sentence and breath he says, "but it can't pass." Thanks, Bernie, we know that right now it can't pass, but when Bob gets his million citizen strong advocation for it, maybe things will change. Thanks, Bob. I will join in your organization. If this is going to get done, it will be because we make it impossible for congress to ignore the need and suffering. It will be done because we overcome the hollow propaganda on television. Difficult, but not impossible.
There are very few examples of sanity in Congress, and Bernie Sanders is one of them.
Nevertheless, I have once again called and emailed my Senators urging them to support this amendment.
Point of contrast, this morning, on NPR, I listened to Republican Judd Gregg (NH) nervously spew talking points about how we shouldn't "nationalize" in healthcare as they have done in Canada, of all places (isn't that the U.K., Senator Gregg?). His key points just spit out in a list, were "rationing", "waiting times", and "lack of innovation" (all in Canada, that is -- on the other side of the Great Wall).
NPR not challenging him on any of these points. What a disappointment, though I suspect the Senator's nervousness alone, along with his blatant "ignorance" on the issues, means that Sander's amendment is making more waves than they'd like to admit, including those phone calls and emails.
I like to write and call through one or two organizations so that there is a minimum record of the public voice to Congress, apart from Congress.
Sorry, Bernie. It'll never fly. The congressmen won't be able to understand it. It makes too much sense.