Backed by at least 15 Democratic senators, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will introduce legislation Wednesday to expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program.
The only way for the U.S. to move away from "a dysfunctional, wasteful, bureaucratic system into a rational health-care system that guarantees coverage to everyone in a cost-effective way" is to introduce "Medicare for All," Sanders told The Washington Post. His bill, the Medicare for All Act of 2017, would replace the current health-care system with a public system paid for by higher taxes, covering everything from prescription drugs to mental health treatment to eye care, with no co-payments. Employers would pay higher taxes, but would no longer have to cover health insurance for workers, and there would still be private insurers for people who wanted elective treatments like plastic surgery. Doctors would be reimbursed by the government.
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