SEN BERNIE SANDERS: Congress just made our healthcare system worse — Here’s the fix

After 43 days, the authorities shutdown has ended. After President Donald Trump illegally and cruelly chopped disconnected SNAP benefits to hopeless Americans, including 16 cardinal children, 42 cardinal frightened radical volition again beryllium capable to enactment nutrient connected their tables. Federal employees volition get paid. And, hopefully, hose schedules volition instrumentality to normal. 

But, here’s what volition besides happen: At a clip erstwhile we already pay, by far, the highest prices successful the satellite for wellness care, security premiums for tens of millions volition skyrocket, and 15 cardinal volition beryllium thrown disconnected the sum they present have.  As a result, studies archer america that 50,000 Americans volition dice unnecessarily each year. The shutdown is over. The pain, suffering and decease begin.

And each of this takes spot successful an system that is already rigged. The affluent are getting overmuch richer portion moving families are uncovering it harder and harder conscionable to survive.

SEN DICK DURBIN: DEMOCRATS FIGHTING TO PROTECT HEALTHCARE WHILE TRUMP, REPUBLICANS PLAY SHUTDOWN GAMES

Here’s the bully news:

If you’re Elon Musk, the wealthiest antheral alive, you’re $163 cardinal richer since Trump was elected. And, adjacent better, you’re connected your mode to becoming the world’s archetypal trillionaire by having Tesla physique millions of robots that will, by the way, decimate good-paying jobs passim our country.

But, it’s not conscionable Musk. The different multi-billionaires who sat down Trump astatine his inauguration, radical similar Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, are besides doing phenomenally well. In fact, astatine a clip of monolithic income and wealthiness inequality, the richest 1 percent present owns much wealthiness than the bottommost 93 percent, firm profits are soaring and CEOs are drafting immense compensation packages.

Here’s the atrocious news:

For those of you who are not wealthy, the likelihood is that you are struggling to conscionable marque ends meet. Today, 60 percent of Americans unrecorded paycheck to paycheck. Millions of hard-working families are uncovering it progressively hard to spend housing, wellness care, childcare, acquisition — oregon adjacent groceries. Sadly, 22 percent of seniors are trying to marque it connected $15,000 a twelvemonth oregon less. Nearly fractional of older workers person nary status savings. And a bulk of young radical volition apt acquisition a little modular of surviving than their parents. Shamefully, successful the wealthiest federation connected Earth, we present person the highest rates of elder and puerility poorness of astir immoderate large country.

And it’s astir to go overmuch worse arsenic a effect of the continuing solution precocious signed into instrumentality by President Trump.

Let maine springiness you immoderate examples.

The mean 60-year-old mates making astir $85,000 a twelvemonth volition spot their monthly premiums spell up from $602 to $2,647 — a quadrupling of rates and an summation of astir $24,500 a year. If you adhd successful out-of-pocket expenses, galore of these couples volition beryllium paying adjacent to 50% of their income for wellness care. That is insane. That is unsustainable. People conscionable can’t bash it.

The mean household of 4 making $44,000 a twelvemonth volition spot their monthly premiums triple — going up from $85 to $253.

The mean idiosyncratic making $32,000 a twelvemonth volition spot his oregon her monthly premiums besides triple — going from $58 to $180.

For what? Why propulsion 15 cardinal radical disconnected their wellness attraction and treble premiums for much than 20 million? The answer: To wage for a $1 trillion taxation interruption for the apical 1%. Yes. Musk gets a taxation break.  Millions suffer their wellness care. That whitethorn marque consciousness to someone, but not to me.

President Trump and immoderate Republicans successful Congress person complained that the Affordable Care Act is not an businesslike mode to supply wellness care. They’re right. Unfortunately, what they are proposing is adjacent worse.

While the details are inactive sketchy, they privation to destruct the Affordable Care Act taxation credits, which mean $6,500, and nonstop checks to immoderate 20 cardinal Americans to acquisition wellness attraction connected their own.

Here’s the problem: How is idiosyncratic who needs $150,000 a twelvemonth successful crab attraction going to get the attraction they request with a $6,500 check? What’s a large ma expected to bash with a $6,500 cheque erstwhile the mean outgo of childbirth successful America is $20,000? How is idiosyncratic who has a bosom onslaught going to beryllium capable to spend a $100,000 infirmary enactment with conscionable $6,500?

This absurd connection would pb to much aesculapian bankruptcies, much unaffordable attraction and much Americans going without the wellness attraction they desperately need.

So, wherever bash we spell from here?

In the abbreviated term, we request to widen the Affordable Care Act taxation credits to forestall monolithic premium increases. We request to rescind the $1 trillion successful cuts to Medicaid and the ACA truthful that 15 cardinal Americans don’t suffer their wellness care. Too galore radical volition endure and dice if we don’t instrumentality these actions.

In the longer term, arsenic a Congress and a nation, we request to person a superior treatment astir the benignant of wellness attraction strategy we want. Here are immoderate of the questions that indispensable beryllium answered:

Should we stay the lone large state connected Earth that does not warrant wellness attraction for each arsenic a quality right?

What tin we larn from different countries that supply wellness attraction to each their radical astatine fractional the outgo per capita?

How bash we supply high-quality wellness attraction to each man, pistillate and kid successful our state successful a cost-effective way? 

Should the superior relation of our wellness attraction strategy beryllium to alteration security companies and the pharmaceutical manufacture to marque immense profits?

In my view, the reply to these questions is not complicated.  We request to amended Medicare and grow it to screen each Americans.

And that’s precisely what the Medicare for All Act — which I introduced with 15 of my colleagues successful the Senate and much than 100 members of the House — would bash implicit a four-year modulation period.

How does Medicare for All work? 

It would supply broad wellness attraction for each American and extremity each premiums, deductibles, co-payments and out-of-pocket costs. It would make a overmuch simpler and much businesslike system. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Medicare for All would prevention $650 cardinal a year, chiefly by eliminating the bonzer magnitude of administrative discarded and security institution profiteering. There would beryllium nary much "networks," and each American would person the state to take their ain doctors and hospitals. Medicare for All would besides bash a overmuch amended occupation of keeping Americans steadfast by putting a greater accent connected illness prevention and superior care. It would beryllium funded by a progressive taxation strategy that would necessitate the affluent and ample corporations to wage their just stock successful taxes.

In the archetypal year, Medicare benefits for older radical would grow to see dental care, imaginativeness sum and proceeding aids, and the eligibility property would beryllium lowered to 55. All children nether 18 would besides beryllium brought into the system.

In the 2nd year, the eligibility property would beryllium lowered to 45; successful the 3rd year, to 35.  By the 4th year, each man, pistillate and kid successful America would beryllium covered by Medicare for All.

Guaranteeing wellness attraction arsenic a quality close is not lone morally and economically necessary. At a clip erstwhile the overwhelming bulk of Americans recognize that our existent strategy is broken, dysfunctional and cruel — the clip is agelong overdue for america to determination successful a precise antithetic direction. Medicare for All is the answer.

Let’s get it done.