Kamala Harris says she intends to co-sponsor Bernie Sanders' single-payer health-care bill

During a town hall in Oakland on Wednesday night, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) announced she will co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) single-payer health-care bill when it is introduced next month.

Harris said she intends to co-sponsor "the Medicare-for-all bill because it's just the right thing to do." Health care "should be a right, not a privilege," she continued. "And it's also about being smart. It is so much better that people have meaningful access to affordable health care at every stage of life, from birth on. Because the alternative is that we as taxpayers otherwise are paying huge amounts of money for them to get their health care in an emergency room. So it's not only about what is morally and ethically right, it also makes sense from a fiscal standpoint, or if you want to talk about it as a return on investment for taxpayers."

Sanders responded on Twitter with a thank you to Harris, adding, "Let's make health care a right, not a privilege." Two other Democrats announced this summer that they support single-payer health insurance — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.).

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up