Rhetoric Vs. Reality: Americans Oppose Medicare For All Tax Hikes

RHETORIC:

• Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) claimed in an interview with CNN yesterday that “a lot of people in the country would be delighted to pay more in taxes” in order to fund Medicare for all, his one-size-fits-all government-run health care system.

REALITY: 

• Polls show that most Americans oppose Medicare for all once they learn it would force Americans to pay higher taxes.  A national poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that 60 percent oppose it when they learn it would require most Americans to pay higher taxes, while 70 percent of Americans oppose Medicare for all when they learn it would “lead to delays in some people getting some medical tests and treatments,” while 60 percent oppose it when they learn it would threaten the already at-risk Medicare program, and 58 percent oppose it when they learn it would eliminate employer-provided and other private coverage.  Polling also showsthat a majority of Americans are satisfied with their current coverage and care – and they don’t want their choices taken away.

As Medicare for all “falters,” some elected officials and 2020 White House hopefuls are turning to so-called “moderate” fallback proposals, often branded “public option” or “Medicare buy-in.”  In reality, these proposed government insurance programs would lead to the same result Americans so clearly reject: a one-size-fits-all health care system run by Washington that will force them to pay more to wait longer for worse care.

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