. The bill’s reintroduction promises to shine a bright light on Democratic presidential candidates’ disparate visions for the long-term future of American health care.
Warren pointed to “a lot of different pathways” to universal coverage during a televised CNN town hall last month. “What we’re all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure that everybody gets covered.” Big tax increases would be needed to finance such a system. The transition is likely to be complicated, dismantling the private health insurance industry and making major changes for hospitals, doctors, drug companies and other medical providers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warned in a Tuesday floor speech that the cost of Sanders’ proposal “is so steep that even left-leaning analysts are quietly admitting that the tax burden is virtually certain to land on the shoulders of the middle class.”