President Donald Trump listens to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service, during a Women in Healthcare panel in the Roosevelt Room at the White House March 22, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Just After Sanders Revealed Fox Viewers' Approval of Medicare for All, Trump's Medicare Chief 'Smears' Program on Network
Trump appointee Seema Verma claimed a Medicare for All system would be financially ruinous to the U.S. and American families—a claim which has been repeatedly debunked
Days after Sen. Bernie Sanders's town hall hosted by Fox News revealed that many Fox viewers would support his Medicare for All plan, President Donald Trump's appointee in charge of Medicare appeared on the network in an apparent attempt at damage control.
Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to claim that Sanders's proposal would deliver worse health outcomes for Americans at a higher price than the current for-profit system--contrary to a number of studies from across the political spectrum.
Media Matters labeled Verma's interview an intentional "smear" of the Vermont Independent senator's appearance and proposal.
"What we're talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program," Verma told host Brian Kilmeade, calling the proposal "the biggest threat to the American healthcare system."
Watch:
Verma also claimed people in countries that guarantee healthcare for residents and pay for those programs with higher taxes regularly flock to the U.S. to take advantage of its healthcare system.
In fact, as Mother Jones reported in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Americans left the U.S. to obtain healthcare in 2016, while 45,000 Canadians left their home country for medical reasons that same year--roughly equal proportions at about .08 and .13 percent of each country's population, respectively. However, Canadians mainly fled home in order to get elective surgery that they would have had to wait for under their universal healthcare systen, while Americans traveled because of high medical costs, not the types of procedures available.
"So you see, every kind of healthcare system has its own problems," wrote Kevin Drum. "Canada's is bad for rich people who can afford to pay top dollar to get faster service. America's is bad for poor people, who would go bankrupt if they paid American prices."
At his town hall on Monday, Sanders explained to the politically diverse audience how a Medicare for All system would require some Americans to pay higher taxes, but how the elimination of insurance deductibles, copays, and premiums would offset those tax increases for the average household.
Fox host Bret Baier, a moderator of the debate, asked the audience to raise their hands if they would support a system like the one Sanders described; most hands went up.
Verma claimed Wednesday that a Medicare for All system would be prohibitively expensive while creating longer wait times for the senior citizens who have paid into the Medicare system, forcing them to share their right to obtain medical care with the rest of the country--but studies including one by the Koch brothers-linked Mercatus Institute have revealed that the proposal would cost less than the current for-profit system.
While Sanders's proposal is expected to cost about $32 trillion over 10 years, the current system costs American families $3.5 trillion per year according to Verma's own agency. This puts projected healthcare costs at $35 trillion over a decade--if they stay exactly the same each year.
In recent days, Verma has also claimed that Medicare for All would stifle "innovation"--prompting physician and author Eric Topol to respond that healthcare should be considered a civil right rather than an opportunity for healthcare administrators and businesses to innovate.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Days after Sen. Bernie Sanders's town hall hosted by Fox News revealed that many Fox viewers would support his Medicare for All plan, President Donald Trump's appointee in charge of Medicare appeared on the network in an apparent attempt at damage control.
Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to claim that Sanders's proposal would deliver worse health outcomes for Americans at a higher price than the current for-profit system--contrary to a number of studies from across the political spectrum.
Media Matters labeled Verma's interview an intentional "smear" of the Vermont Independent senator's appearance and proposal.
"What we're talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program," Verma told host Brian Kilmeade, calling the proposal "the biggest threat to the American healthcare system."
Watch:
Verma also claimed people in countries that guarantee healthcare for residents and pay for those programs with higher taxes regularly flock to the U.S. to take advantage of its healthcare system.
In fact, as Mother Jones reported in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Americans left the U.S. to obtain healthcare in 2016, while 45,000 Canadians left their home country for medical reasons that same year--roughly equal proportions at about .08 and .13 percent of each country's population, respectively. However, Canadians mainly fled home in order to get elective surgery that they would have had to wait for under their universal healthcare systen, while Americans traveled because of high medical costs, not the types of procedures available.
"So you see, every kind of healthcare system has its own problems," wrote Kevin Drum. "Canada's is bad for rich people who can afford to pay top dollar to get faster service. America's is bad for poor people, who would go bankrupt if they paid American prices."
At his town hall on Monday, Sanders explained to the politically diverse audience how a Medicare for All system would require some Americans to pay higher taxes, but how the elimination of insurance deductibles, copays, and premiums would offset those tax increases for the average household.
Fox host Bret Baier, a moderator of the debate, asked the audience to raise their hands if they would support a system like the one Sanders described; most hands went up.
Verma claimed Wednesday that a Medicare for All system would be prohibitively expensive while creating longer wait times for the senior citizens who have paid into the Medicare system, forcing them to share their right to obtain medical care with the rest of the country--but studies including one by the Koch brothers-linked Mercatus Institute have revealed that the proposal would cost less than the current for-profit system.
While Sanders's proposal is expected to cost about $32 trillion over 10 years, the current system costs American families $3.5 trillion per year according to Verma's own agency. This puts projected healthcare costs at $35 trillion over a decade--if they stay exactly the same each year.
In recent days, Verma has also claimed that Medicare for All would stifle "innovation"--prompting physician and author Eric Topol to respond that healthcare should be considered a civil right rather than an opportunity for healthcare administrators and businesses to innovate.
Days after Sen. Bernie Sanders's town hall hosted by Fox News revealed that many Fox viewers would support his Medicare for All plan, President Donald Trump's appointee in charge of Medicare appeared on the network in an apparent attempt at damage control.
Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday to claim that Sanders's proposal would deliver worse health outcomes for Americans at a higher price than the current for-profit system--contrary to a number of studies from across the political spectrum.
Media Matters labeled Verma's interview an intentional "smear" of the Vermont Independent senator's appearance and proposal.
"What we're talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program," Verma told host Brian Kilmeade, calling the proposal "the biggest threat to the American healthcare system."
Watch:
Verma also claimed people in countries that guarantee healthcare for residents and pay for those programs with higher taxes regularly flock to the U.S. to take advantage of its healthcare system.
In fact, as Mother Jones reported in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Americans left the U.S. to obtain healthcare in 2016, while 45,000 Canadians left their home country for medical reasons that same year--roughly equal proportions at about .08 and .13 percent of each country's population, respectively. However, Canadians mainly fled home in order to get elective surgery that they would have had to wait for under their universal healthcare systen, while Americans traveled because of high medical costs, not the types of procedures available.
"So you see, every kind of healthcare system has its own problems," wrote Kevin Drum. "Canada's is bad for rich people who can afford to pay top dollar to get faster service. America's is bad for poor people, who would go bankrupt if they paid American prices."
At his town hall on Monday, Sanders explained to the politically diverse audience how a Medicare for All system would require some Americans to pay higher taxes, but how the elimination of insurance deductibles, copays, and premiums would offset those tax increases for the average household.
Fox host Bret Baier, a moderator of the debate, asked the audience to raise their hands if they would support a system like the one Sanders described; most hands went up.
Verma claimed Wednesday that a Medicare for All system would be prohibitively expensive while creating longer wait times for the senior citizens who have paid into the Medicare system, forcing them to share their right to obtain medical care with the rest of the country--but studies including one by the Koch brothers-linked Mercatus Institute have revealed that the proposal would cost less than the current for-profit system.
While Sanders's proposal is expected to cost about $32 trillion over 10 years, the current system costs American families $3.5 trillion per year according to Verma's own agency. This puts projected healthcare costs at $35 trillion over a decade--if they stay exactly the same each year.
In recent days, Verma has also claimed that Medicare for All would stifle "innovation"--prompting physician and author Eric Topol to respond that healthcare should be considered a civil right rather than an opportunity for healthcare administrators and businesses to innovate.