SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks as former Vice President Joe Biden gestures during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Westerville, Ohio on October 15, 2019. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
'It Is Really Sad': Sanders Rips Biden for Deploying Insurance Industry Talking Points Against Medicare for All
"Joe must know that we currently spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people of almost any other major country and that we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
Oct 17, 2019
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday issued a statement condemning former Vice President Joe Biden for parroting insurance industry talking points in an effort to convince voters that Sanders is "trying to con the American people" with Medicare for All.
"It is really sad that Joe Biden is using the talking points of the insurance industry to attack Medicare for All," said Sanders. "Joe must know that we currently spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people of almost any other major country and that we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
"Under Medicare for All, funded in a progressive manner, all Americans will have comprehensive healthcare coverage as a guaranteed human right and, with no premiums, co-payments, or out-of-pocket expenses, ordinary Americans will be spending far less for that care than they currently pay," the Vermont senator added.
The statement comes a day after Biden attacked Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for "playing Trump's game" by supporting Medicare for All.
"The idea that someone is going to be able to go out and spend what turns out to be, if you add on everything that's going to be free beyond Obamacare, excuse me beyond Medicare for All, which is going to come out to about $3.4 trillion a year," Biden told reporters during a campaign event Wednesday.
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, Biden failed to mention that the United States spent $3.65 trillion on healthcare in 2018.
During Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Ohio, Sanders said he is "tired... of people defending a system which is dysfunctional, which is cruel."
"I will tell you what the issue is here," Sanders added. "The issue is whether the Democratic Party has the guts to stand up to the healthcare industry which made a $100 billion in profits; whether we have the guts to stand up to the corrupt, price-fixing pharmaceutical industry which is charging us the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. If we don't have the guts to do that--if all we can do is take their money--we should be ashamed of ourselves."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday issued a statement condemning former Vice President Joe Biden for parroting insurance industry talking points in an effort to convince voters that Sanders is "trying to con the American people" with Medicare for All.
"It is really sad that Joe Biden is using the talking points of the insurance industry to attack Medicare for All," said Sanders. "Joe must know that we currently spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people of almost any other major country and that we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
"Under Medicare for All, funded in a progressive manner, all Americans will have comprehensive healthcare coverage as a guaranteed human right and, with no premiums, co-payments, or out-of-pocket expenses, ordinary Americans will be spending far less for that care than they currently pay," the Vermont senator added.
The statement comes a day after Biden attacked Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for "playing Trump's game" by supporting Medicare for All.
"The idea that someone is going to be able to go out and spend what turns out to be, if you add on everything that's going to be free beyond Obamacare, excuse me beyond Medicare for All, which is going to come out to about $3.4 trillion a year," Biden told reporters during a campaign event Wednesday.
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, Biden failed to mention that the United States spent $3.65 trillion on healthcare in 2018.
During Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Ohio, Sanders said he is "tired... of people defending a system which is dysfunctional, which is cruel."
"I will tell you what the issue is here," Sanders added. "The issue is whether the Democratic Party has the guts to stand up to the healthcare industry which made a $100 billion in profits; whether we have the guts to stand up to the corrupt, price-fixing pharmaceutical industry which is charging us the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. If we don't have the guts to do that--if all we can do is take their money--we should be ashamed of ourselves."
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday issued a statement condemning former Vice President Joe Biden for parroting insurance industry talking points in an effort to convince voters that Sanders is "trying to con the American people" with Medicare for All.
"It is really sad that Joe Biden is using the talking points of the insurance industry to attack Medicare for All," said Sanders. "Joe must know that we currently spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people of almost any other major country and that we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
"Under Medicare for All, funded in a progressive manner, all Americans will have comprehensive healthcare coverage as a guaranteed human right and, with no premiums, co-payments, or out-of-pocket expenses, ordinary Americans will be spending far less for that care than they currently pay," the Vermont senator added.
The statement comes a day after Biden attacked Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for "playing Trump's game" by supporting Medicare for All.
"The idea that someone is going to be able to go out and spend what turns out to be, if you add on everything that's going to be free beyond Obamacare, excuse me beyond Medicare for All, which is going to come out to about $3.4 trillion a year," Biden told reporters during a campaign event Wednesday.
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, Biden failed to mention that the United States spent $3.65 trillion on healthcare in 2018.
During Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Ohio, Sanders said he is "tired... of people defending a system which is dysfunctional, which is cruel."
"I will tell you what the issue is here," Sanders added. "The issue is whether the Democratic Party has the guts to stand up to the healthcare industry which made a $100 billion in profits; whether we have the guts to stand up to the corrupt, price-fixing pharmaceutical industry which is charging us the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. If we don't have the guts to do that--if all we can do is take their money--we should be ashamed of ourselves."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.