Partnership Reacts To Senator Sanders’ Presidential Campaign Launch

WASHINGTON – The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future issued the following statement after today’s announcement by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) – a leading advocate for upending our nation’s health care system in favor of starting from scratch with Medicare for All – that he will once again seek the presidency:

“Each and every American deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care.  But as the conversation about America’s health care future takes shape within the 2020 campaign, poll after poll shows that most Americans favor protecting and strengthening what works in our nation’s current health care system and fixing what doesn’t – not scrapping our entire system and starting from scratch with a one-size-fits-all system,” said Lauren Crawford Shaver, Executive Director of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future.  “Whether you call it Medicare for All, Medicare buy-in, single-payer or a public option, when Americans learn the facts about government-run health care proposals, majorities oppose it.  While more can and must be done to make our health care system work better for every family, Americans have made it clear they favor solutions that build on the progress we’ve made to deliver greater affordability, more choice, better access and all the benefits that come with innovation.”

Background Information:

A Recent Poll By The Kaiser Family Foundation Found That The Majority Of Democrats Want Democratic Lawmakers To Focus On Protecting The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Rather Than Passing “Medicare For All.” “Half (51 percent) of Democrats say House Democrats should focus on the ACA while four in ten (38 percent) say they should focus on passing a national Medicare-for-all plan.  The share of Democrats who want Congress to focus on passing a national Medicare-for-all plan is down 10 percentage points from March 2018.” (Ashley Kirzinger, Cailey Muñana & Mollyann Brodie, “KFF Health Tracking Poll – January 2019: The Public On Next Steps For The ACA And Proposals To Expand Coverage,” KFF, 1/23/19)

• 58 Percent Of Americans Oppose Medicare For All When They Learn It Would Eliminate Private Health Coverage. (Ashley Kirzinger, Cailey Muñana & Mollyann Brodie, “KFF Health Tracking Poll – January 2019: The Public On Next Steps For The ACA And Proposals To Expand Coverage,” KFF, 1/23/19)
• 60 Percent Of Americans Oppose Medicare For All When They Learn It Would “Require Most Americans To Pay More In Taxes.” (Ashley Kirzinger, Cailey Muñana & Mollyann Brodie, “KFF Health Tracking Poll – January 2019: The Public On Next Steps For The ACA And Proposals To Expand Coverage,” KFF, 1/23/19)
• 70 Percent Of Americans Oppose Medicare For All When They Learn It Would “Lead To Delays In People Getting Some Medical Tests And Treatments.” (Ashley Kirzinger, Cailey Muñana & Mollyann Brodie, “KFF Health Tracking Poll – January 2019: The Public On Next Steps For The ACA And Proposals To Expand Coverage,” KFF, 1/23/19)