House Progressives Unveil Their Medicare for All Bill

Progressive lawmakers in the U.S. House will today propose a Medicare for all bill, sponsored by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), and backed by more than 100 others, reports CNN . The legislation is similar to a prior Senate measure from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a House bill sponsored by former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). The new House bill would retool the U.S. healthcare system by establishing a federal plan to insure all Americans, delivering generous coverage at no cost to beneficiaries while possibly cutting payments to many hospitals and doctors. "There are some things that should not be provided through the for-profit marketplace," said Jayapal. "Healthcare is one of them." More moderate Democrats suggest the plan is too costly and politically noxious, and prefer bills allowing Americans to buy into Medicare at age 50 or to purchase Medicaid coverage, which currently insures low-income people in all age brackets. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) doubts a Medicare for all vote will be held by this Congress, given the low probability of sufficient consensus in the Democratic caucus on a specific measure.