Fox News host vastly underestimates popularity of Medicare-for-All at Bernie Sanders town hall

Bernie Sanders with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

(Image credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images)

last updated 26 April 2019

It is a well-established fact that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a proponent of Medicare-for-All, and during a Fox News town hall on Monday, moderator Bret Baier quickly learned that a lot of other people are, too.

During the town hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Sanders was asked about health care. He explained that he wants a single-payer insurance program where people can go to any doctor or hospital, adding that "millions of people today are in networks, which prevent them from doing this, so this gives you freedom of choice in regards to doctors and hospitals."

Baier followed up by saying the audience was filled with people from across the political spectrum, and he asked those with private insurance through their work to raise their hands. He then asked how many were willing to "transition to what the senator says, a government-run system." To the surprise of no one except apparently Baier, the crowd erupted in cheers. Sanders pointed out that just because people have insurance through their employer now, that could change in an instant if they are fired or switch jobs. "What we're talking about is stability, that when you have Medicare-for-All it is there now and will be there in the future," he said, to even more applause. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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