Cory Booker joins the push for universal health care

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced Monday that he will be co-sponsoring Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) "Medicare for All" bill, NJTV News reports. In doing so, Booker also joins forces with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the push for a universal health-care system.

"Health care must be recognized as a right, not a privilege," Sanders argues on his website. "Every man, woman, and child in our country should be able to access the health care they need regardless of their income. The only long-term solution to America's health-care crisis is a single-payer national health-care program."

Sanders plans to introduce his bill Wednesday, despite the fact that it will face long odds of passing in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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"You should not be punished because you are working class or poor and be denied health care," Booker argued on NJTV News. "I think health care should be a right to all. This is something that's got to happen. ObamaCare was a first step in advancing this country, but I won't rest until every American has a basic security that comes with having access to affordable health care." Watch his announcement below via NJTV News, and read why Democrats should push "Medicare for all" here at The Week. Jeva Lange