Key Democrats line up behind Sanders health care bill
WASHINGTON: Former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced a revolutionary plan for government- sponsored health care, a proposal that has gained traction among rising-star Democrats.
The bill has slim to no chance of passing a Republican- controlled Congress, but presents an opportunity for Democrats to stake out new policy goals in the era of President Donald Trump as they prepare for upcoming elections.
If it were to become law, the Sanders plan would create perhaps the most ambitious social welfare initiative in US history.
“Health care in America must be a right, not a privilege,” Sanders, joined by fellow senators as well as doctors, nurses and patients, said at the rollout of his ‘Medicare for All’ legislation.
“Today we begin the long and difficult struggle to end the international disgrace of the United States, our great nation, being the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all of our people.”
While support for such a scheme has surged among prominent Democrats — including several who may launch presidential bids in 2020 — the party’s leaders are not on board with the liberal independent senator.
Sanders, whose so- called ‘single payer’ health insurance proposal was a key part of his run against Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination, said his bill has 16 cosponsors plus himself — more than a third of the Senate Democratic caucus.
Five potential presidential contenders — senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Sanders himself — attended the rollout, each offering impassioned rationales for taking the dramatic step to government- sponsored healthcare. — AFP