Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced “H.R. 1384: To establish an improved Medicare for All national health insurance program” on Wednesday, holding a rally on Capitol Hill with some of the bill’s 106 other co-sponsors.
So proud and excited to stand behind @RepJayapal and @RepDebDingell to announce the introduction of the Medicare for All Act of 2019! Our future physician members want quality affordable healthcare for all, and this proposal will make healthcare better for us and for our patients pic.twitter.com/KoxrKc3PbB
— Perry Tsai, MD/PhD (@amsapres) February 27, 2019
Nobody should have to choose between their health and their livelihoods. It’s time for change. It’s time for #MedicareforAll. Wednesday, I’m leading over 100 of my colleagues in ushering a new era of #MedicareforAll. Let’s make history. pic.twitter.com/znmLTUMgkw
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) February 25, 2019
As Breitbart News noted earlier this week, the bill would eliminate private health insurance — including Obamacare policies sold on state and federal exchanges — within two years and move everyone in the U.S. to a government insurance plan.
Like the “Green New Deal” introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other Democrats earlier this month, the “Medicare for All” bill includes no provision for funding, though a similar bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would cost an estimated $32 trillion over ten years.
The text of the legislation was not immediately available, but a detailed description provided by supporters of the bill notes that it prohibits private insurance, including employer-provided insurance. It also eliminates restrictions on “reproductive health,” i.e. abortion.
Another summary claims that Medicare for All would make healthcare more efficient by “remov[ing] the profit motive” and that “Medicare for All would simplify the healthcare system by moving to a single-payer model.”
Supporters, including Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), called the bill an expression of their belief that healthcare is a “right.”
Media coverage of the rollout was swamped by coverage of the Michael Cohen hearings at the House Oversight Committee, which were happening at the same time as the rollout of the bill, but it is sure to receive more attention.
Several Democratic presidential candidates have already committed to the idea of “Medicare for All,” in principle.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
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