"Faced with a choice between a watered-down Affordable Care Act that pushes tens of millions off health care, or Medicare for All (a single-payer plan that builds on Medicare), swing voters will opt for the latter.
"Whatever Senate Republicans come up with in the next month or so, it will still transfer resources from sicker and poorer Americans to wealthier and healthier ones. By contrast, Medicare for All would cover everyone at far lower cost.
"This political reality is playing out in Congress, as Democrats move toward Medicare for All. Most House Democrats are co-sponsoring a Medicare for All bill there. Senator Bernie Sanders is preparing to introduce it in the Senate. The California Senate has advanced a single-payer bill for the state.
"With health care emerging as the pubic's top concern, according to recent polls, the choice between repeal of the Affordable Care Act and Medicare for All is likely to be the major domestic issue in the presidential campaign of 2020 (other than getting Trump out of office, if he lasts that long).
"And the better choice should be clear. Private for-profit insurers spend a fortune trying to attract healthy people while avoiding the sick and needy, filling out paperwork from hospitals and providers, paying top executives, and rewarding shareholders. And they’re merging like mad, in order to make even more money. This is why health insurance is becoming so expensive, and why almost every other advanced nation – including our neighbor to the north – has adopted a single-payer system at less cost per person and with better health outcomes.
"Most Americans support Medicare for All. According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, a majority would like to see a single-payer system implemented. An April survey from the Economist/YouGov showed 60 percent of Americans in favor of 'expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American.' That includes nearly half of people who identify themselves as Republican.
"Obama should have led with Medicare for All instead of the Affordable Care Act. But after Republicans gut the Affordable Care Act, the American public will be presented with the real choice ahead: Expensive health care for the few, or affordable health care for the many," -- Robert Reich
