countdowntohealthcare.com

Last night, my Democratic colleagues in the Senate struck a deal that will help us move health care reform forward in the Senate.  The details are still sketchy, but there is one remarkable element of the emerging plan: the expansion of the smart single-payer health care plan that serves over 43 million Americans—Medicare.  For months, many of us have been scratching our heads over why so many in Congress seem to be fighting to protect the profits and high overhead that come with the insurance industry when there is already a system that works. Medicare provides health care to all Americans over 65 and has an overhead of barely 1 percent.

Here on CountdowntoHealthCare.com I’ve posted a clip in which I ask why we restrict Medicare only to those over 65.  In fact, in this clip, MSNBC’s Maria Bartiromo asks if I would want Medicare.  The answer is yes—I want Medicare for all Americans.

Extending this successful program to those between 55 and 64 would be the largest expansion of Medicare in 44 years and would help us expand the single-payer model.  In a debate that hasn’t focused enough on how to genuinely contain costs and deliver affordable health care, this is
one idea I like a lot.

Anthony