Rep. Keith Ellison, deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is becoming the lead sponsor of a healthcare bill that would move everyone in the U.S. onto the Medicare program.
The Minnesota Democrat is replacing Rep. John Conyers Jr., as the sponsor of the Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act after receiving unanimous consent. Conyers retired from Congress under pressure following allegations of sexual harassment.
“Healthcare is a human right, and Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come,” said Ellison, referring to the policy in a tweet shortly after the announcement.
I just received unanimous consent from my colleagues to assume leadership of former Rep. John Conyers’ historic single-payer health care bill. Health care is a human right, and Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come. pic.twitter.com/kcmbvZRtud
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) March 7, 2018
More Democrats are backing a healthcare system in which the government would be the sole payer for healthcare services. At least 120 members of Congress have cosponsored the Medicare for All proposal. Under the proposal, Medicare would pay for a range of medical services, from mental health to emergency services and prescription drugs.
On the Senate side, the Medicare for All Act was reintroduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and has the unprecedented support of 16 Democratic senators. It does not have enough support to pass the Republican-controlled Congress, but several cosponsors on the Senate side are expected to seek a presidential run, including Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
Under the Sanders healthcare plan, Medicare would pay for emergency surgery, prescription drugs, mental healthcare, and eye care without a co-pay. Medicare, which does not currently cover dental care or vision and hearing aids, would cover those items under his proposal. Soon after the bill passed into law, people 18 and under would receive a “universal Medicare card” and others currently not eligible for Medicare would be phased in after four years.
People who now receive private medical coverage under a job would lose that plan to receive Medicare instead, and their employers would pay higher taxes rather than pay for the cost of private plans.
Speaking on the House floor, Ellison blamed health insurance companies as being the “major beneficiaries of our policies” and the reason that the U.S. spends more than any other nation on healthcare.
A poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 53 percent of respondents say they favor a single-payer system, but support falls off when arguments are made about the government having more involvement in healthcare and when questions are asked about financing through higher taxes.
