Liberal House Democrats just unveiled the Medicare for All Act of 2019, a comprehensive bill to abolish virtually all private health plans—including employer-sponsored coverage—and impose total federal government control over Americans’ health care.
Despite its sweeping and detailed government control, as well as the imposition of huge but unknown costs, the 120-page bill has nonetheless initially attracted 106 Democrat co-sponsors, almost half of all Democrats in the House.
The legislation is profoundly authoritarian.
For example, Section 107 ensures that no American, regardless of their personal wants or medical needs, would be able to enroll in any alternative health plan that “duplicates” the government’s coverage.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the bill’s primary sponsor, is at least open about the bill’s intent: “The Medicare for All bill really makes it clear what we mean by ‘Medicare for All.’ We mean a system where there are no private insurance companies that provide these core comprehensive benefits.”
Under Section 201, Congress would decide the content of the health benefits package, what is and is not to be available in the new government health plan. The bill forbids cost sharing, a statutory prohibition guaranteed to induce demand and hike Americans’ overall health costs.
Americans would not be able simply to spend their own money for medical care from a doctor of their choice. Personal contracts between doctors and patients outside of the government plan would be tightly restricted. Under Section 301, “ … no charge will be made to any individual for any covered items or services than for payment authorized by this Act.”
Under Section 303, a provider “ … may not bill or enter into any private contract with any individual eligible for benefits under the Act for any item or service that is a benefit under this Act.”
Even private contracts for “non-covered” medical services require the doctor to report them to the health and human services secretary. Section 303 also stipulates that a private contract between a doctor and a patient for “covered” services would be permissible if and only if the doctor signs and files the affidavit with the secretary of HHS and refrains from submitting any claim for any person “enrolled under this Act” for two full years.
Altogether, these restrictions, layered atop the prohibition on private insurance coverage, would virtually eliminate private agreements between doctors and patients.
In practice, Americans could spend their own money on their own terms with just the very few doctors who could afford to see cash-paying patients entirely outside the system.
In most respects, the new House bill is broadly similar to Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., bill. Beyond creating a government monopoly of health insurance, it centralizes key health care decisions in the office of the secretary of HHS; establishes a national health budget; and it creates a temporary Medicare-style “public option” (along with subsidies for enrollees) in the moribund Obamacare exchanges.
Like Sanders’ bill, the House bill would also eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Obamacare exchange plans, and Tricare, the health program for military dependents. All of these beneficiaries would be absorbed into the new government plan; it would not be a matter of personal choice.
In striking contrast to the earlier version of the House “Medicare for All” bill, the new House bill contains no tax or funding provisions. This is a conspicuous omission. This is especially so because the House sponsors (under Section 204) also incorporate long-term care coverage, including nursing home and community-based care, into the basic benefit package. This coverage would likely be hugely expensive.
Recall that independent analysts from the Mercatus Center and the Urban Institute roughly agree that the true 10-year cost of Sanders’ similar plan would be approximately $32 trillion.
Ken Thorpe of Emory University, formerly an adviser to President Bill Clinton, estimates that the federal taxation needed to finance the Sanders’ plan would amount to an additional 20 percent tax on workers’ income, and more than 7 out of 10 working families would end up paying more for health care than they do today.
The federal spending and taxation needed to fund the new House bill would certainly be larger. Beyond the potential impact of the bill on the nation’s deficits and debt, independent analysts and economists will also focus laser-like on the size and impact of the new federal taxes on individuals and families at various income levels.
Simply taxing “the rich” will not cut it.
The House co-sponsors of the Medicare for All Act intend a rapid transformation of American health care.
Under Section 106 of the bill, they authorize the completion of this massive disruption of today’s public and private health insurance arrangements within just two years.
In the meantime, analysts at the Congressional Budget Office have a very big job to do.
They need to get on it. Now.
Let the debate begin.
Its to bad the GOP isn’t awake here. Are they even there? When payback comes the left will lose and that day will be tragic. They are communists and their ‘legal’ voters don’t care because they have enough illegals vote for them.
I maintain that most bad health is from bad nutrition! I am 92 plus. And I take no medication. I do read up on nutrition articles and take vitamins and minerals I think are needed that I don’t get in eating the right foods or when in eating the wrong ones like sweets or prepared foods that are full of soy!
The internet is full of info to help in good nutrition
We don’t need doctors except when we break something Drugs are detrimental to our health and Big Pharma is out there promoting actions that finally bring you to their pharmacies!!!!
Doctors get very little schooling on nutrition but much on drugs! BEWARE!!!
Morons – one and all . Were these idiots actually born in the United Staes of America ? We are not and never will be a socialist society .
These liberal people are insane
These people weren’t even willing to vote to save the life of a baby who survives a botched abortion. Why would I consider putting them in charge of my health insurance and medical care? I don’t think so!
I assume that as usual members of Congress will be exempt from this plan. So Medicare for all isn’t really for all.
HELL NO! Our government is insane!
Proving once and for all time that liberals are stupid. They don’t remember the train wreck of obama”doesn’t”care?` Honestly they do, but they are counting on the rest of us being stupid enough to buy into socialism for the 2nd time.
Where are the doctors, hospitals, and other medical services, equipment, and pharmeceutical providers? Are they suddently silent? What prospective physician would ever go into deep personal debt ever again, knowing they would never be able to pay off med school AND eat ever again because payments are so low and regulated by bureaucrats with no incentive to properly reward those providers.
As a retired senior currently on MCare, I currently pay $185/month to MCare and another $160/month for supplental coverage of the 20% not covered. Double that to include my husband. That’s $345 each for health care. No dental, no vision. What are they proposing for this. Many people think of MCare as free healthcare.
One more freedom they are trying to take from us. My husband goes to the VA in Dallas. If you want anything screwed up, just let the government handle it. It is better than it used to be and they have taken good care of him, but it is impossible to get things through to the person you need to get them and the pharmacy is a broken system. They are now installing kiosks down on the first floor of the clinic addition to handle all your appointment making so you don’t talk directly to a person anymore to check in or out. If it wasn’t for the “younger” vets (my husband is 76 and is pretty tech savvy) who are tech savvy, some of those vets would never get their medications, lab work, or get checked in for their appointments. I asked the young man that checked us out the other day what would happen to those who know nothing and he looked at me and said they would probably be lost right out of the system, unless someone helps them. Forget that they signed a blank check to defend this country and were promised health care.
Also, what is to stop them from telling us we don’t deserve health care because we are old and it costs too much?
The idea of the American Government is for us to choose our own way. That is why Congressmen and Senators are “representatives acting on behalf of the will of the “We the People.” We the People wanted to get out from under the failed health system called the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare. It was probably one of the main items that pushed Trump into the White House. Now the Congress wants to do away with ALL private health insurance plans? I didn’t sign up for that. This is just another Democrat attack on President Trump. They don’t care who they hurt in the process. If this thing does happen to pass I hope someone adds an amendment to this that will ensure that all the members of both houses must abide by the same law they are passing. I see this move as a failure on the part of these members of Congress and the Senate as breaking the oath they took upon taking office. They are not protecting our Constitution against enemies foriegns and domestic.
A remake of Obamacare! Will never work!!!
I fought the Patients Bill of Rights and Affordable Care Act with letters, talking with 100s of people etc and every fatal flaw I predicted came to fruition! However, now our government sees their mistake, (sorta?) and want to have a “do-over”. Everyone that supports “Medicare for all is more than barking mad. Medicare is bankrupt i.e. THIRTY SEVEN TRILLION DOLLARS of unfunded liabilities(!!!) For those are not paying attention US National debt was at $22 Trillion… Medicare’s Unfunded Liabilities are $15 Trillion MORE THAN US National Debt!!! Medicare for all is actually medicaid for all but less, this is unsustainable before it starts and it will destroy us. I have a $1,463 medical bill that Medicare is 100% responsible yet, for some unknown reason… CLAIM DENIED! I’ve called Medicare to discuss this and I wait on hold no less than 30 min. After I explain every detail the person says, “It sounds like you are correct but that’s not my department Ill have to transfer you” (CLICK More irritating music) 43 mins later when person answers, “how may I be of assistance”? I explain every detail and when I’m done the woman said, “I’m going to have to transfer you because your in the wrong place, I don’t deal with this”… I said “wait, I was transferred to you 43 minutes ago and I’ve spent 10 minutes talking to you only to learn you do not deal with my issue”. She repeated, “I’m going to have to ~”. I asked her to give me the number, I’m done trying to deal with this today; the number she gave me was the FIRST number I called…. Folks, Medicare IS BROKEN and our government wants to break it worse. Please, for yourselves, vigorously oppose this medicare for all, flood congress with letters, emails, faxes voicing your opposition.
Its jjust plain crazy. Thousands of jobs would be lost. Medical schools will be empty
doctors will quit, putting more people out of work. Don’t forget the ripple effect. What will all those newly unemployed people do. WAKE UP AMERICA. Let’s not give up our basic rights without a fight. Let’s keep them. Wouldn’t food for every American be a better deal than medical care.
Welcome to the Democratic Socialist Party. Good by to our enjoyable way of life. I never envisioned this when in Vietnam fighting for my country.
Notice they conveniently leave out the fact that Medicare only covers 80% of current medical costs. IF you do away with all the medical insurance companies, WHO will cover the other 20%??? This new class of “young” Dems just elected sadly shows just how bad our education system has become in this country.
Terrible idea. It would totally destroy the wonderful health care that we enjoy today. Medical schools would see a large decline in students and we’ll be singing “Where Have All the Physicians Gone”
This is totally unfathomable, who would even buy into this jibberish. Bernie Sanders and all of his cronies are absolutely absurd, God help us all if this system ever gets approved, we will be in serious trouble people, worse than we are now.
Socialized Medicine. Dozen’t work well if you want a free nation. Sweden, teachers making 54K a year cannot afford a Automobile or home. Taxes to pay for the government services. Happiness scores are high so is their use of tranquilizer some m or the highest n the world.
This is Communism when a government takes away our choices, basic rights to a control our own lives. Our rights to privacy and This is completely unconstitutional, what will they do with the Bill of rights. These people are nuts. I say impeach these Congress members. More disconcerting is the Senate seems to be listening to these newbies in Congress to make points.This is all scary and hurtful to our freedom as a Country.
This has to be stopped
It is disgusting the same “intelligent” people who demand the right to kill an unborn child, because it is in their body, and they must have sovereignty over their own body. Now act as if they are “intelligent” enough for everyone and strip others of the same sovereignty.
Maybe this small group with loud voices need to go compound and leave the rest of us alone. The rest of us better get involved NOW, while we still have a country. Remember it has been said. All it takes for Evil to triumph, is for Good men to do nothing.
ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING?
To Mr. Sam Mittman: I don’t know about you but I worked and PAID for My SOCIAL Security and Medicare. Therefore it is not a SOCIAL Program. It is bought and paid for by me so it is MINE. You may be getting everything for free but those of us who follow the laws do not. Those of with regular jobs paid taxes on what we earned, then paid SOCIAL security taxes,and then paid Medicare taxes. Now that I am using these services that I bought, and was paying taxes on at the time I bought them, I am paying taxes on them again as Income. Have a nice day. Just gets my dander up every time someone thinks we OLDER CITIZENS sat around and waited until the day we could live for FREE. HELL I have neighbors I think you are talking about. They are between the ages of 25 to 40 , they do not have to pay rent, lights, gas, phone, ,medical, their auto is better than mine, they get FREE groceries, and go on Vacations. NO job, oh that’s right they cannot work because the are NOT supposed to be here. Those must be the people you were thinking of when you were talking about Social Programs. It is sad to have to watch the invasion of our country and be told that they have more rights than United States Citizens.. The of this rant Republicans please start voteing
God forbid! What about those of us who purchased Long Term Care policy and continue to pay the escalating premium for the policy as part of long term planning?
Would that become null and void? I keep paying the much higher quarterly premium because it is a policy with good coverages and inflation protection.
The Democratic Party is methodically destroying this country. With political destruction will come super increases in taxes, and degradation of services (medical) especially. We will see a huge number of Doctors leave practice rather than be burdened with government mandated wage restrictions. Private practice will be destroyed. Yet the stupids, blinded by slick rhetoric by Sanders and others will blindly follow and support these hair brained medical schemes. Pathetic.
Medicare for all would be a tragic
Mistake. We do not have the funding to do this. We are not a socialist country, and I for one do not want to pay for illegals and those who are too lazy to work.
It’s a non-starter.
This is against the patients bill of rights,. and the Constitution. I do not want or need the Governments help. I receive all the benefits I need with my Medicare & HMO. I never have any problems receiving what I need. I do not want the Government making health care decisions for me !I do not want the Government controlling and telling me what healthcare I can receive. I like my freedom of choice and I want to keep it. So, I suppose the members of congress, will not be receiving the same health care! I refuse to give away my freedoms. I am not a pawn in their socialist experiment. I do not need the government to make decisions for me. I am sure this is not for the American people. They are probably doing this, for Illegal aliens .so they can win the Presidency. That
s all they care about. They do not care about the American people. This is too big of a decision, for them to make for all American people. We need a public vote for this! This is unamerican and the start of the downfall, of our country. I am furious! Healthcare is our decision to make for ourselves. We will be in crowded waiting rooms for hours. Thats the same poor quality of care, as Welfare recipients on Medicaid. I am disabled, what about the disability act? I refuse to let my rights be taken away, by some little girls ridiculous ideas!Absolutely ridiculous and out of the question! NO WAY should our government give Medicare for all! DEMONIC democrats are positively losing their freaking minds‼️
That is what they tried with Obamacare….it was done on false premises with the intention to make it so tough on the insurance companies that they would withdraw and leave only a single payer system and that would be the government. They at least tried to hide their intentions for that….they are openly a communist regime that needs to be taken down. The picture shows the millenials who are the stupidest generation of kids ever….they have their phones up their butts 24/7/365 and have been brainwashed in the public school systems and liberal colleges….they are the “give it to me free” generation who does not realize that NOTHING is free….someone somewhere is paying the price for it. And they need to know from someone who is on Medicare….IT IS NOT FREE….we paid for it for 45 years and are still paying for it….to the tune of almost$200 a month each for my husband and I each month and the last three years that we have been given a cost of living raise, Social Security just took that raise and raised the cost of my premium.
No to more government control of our lives. Too many people are willing to give up freedoms for free stuff that will cost someone big bucks out of their pay checks so the free loaders can keep their money and live off of others. This is the democratic way-buy your freedom and line their pockets.
The Democrats seem to have become demon possessed with wanting power and control. It won’t be long before they want to stop having elections or just have fake elections like the other socialist/communist countries.
Well, most “private health care” would be better than ANYTHING the gov’t. would provide. Private care is available in Canada, UK and many European countries. Ditto in Mexico. It is called “concierge” or “boutique” care. My granddaughter who was in England for a year became very ill. She could not get into the ER, and as a result of bad (non) care, she miscarried her first baby. n another instance she tried to get Extra Strength Tylenol at the local pharmacy. Nope…gotta have an Rx for that. This means of course, a visit to the doctor (he gets paid) and maybe or maybe not you can get an appointment in a week or so. It is one HOT MESS. At some point, they say, “Would you like to have concierge care?” WTH?! This will also limit certain care for patients you are old, sickly, etc. UNLESS YOU HAVE THE $$ TO PAY FOR CONCIERGE CARE!
How would the Congress like to be forced into this healthcare and not be able to use there vast amounts of monies to pay for a doctor to take care of them .
When will The People wake up and realize that this is a Constitutional Republic that provides all of us the power of choice and the freedom of choice? Government is not suppose to be making decisions to ram something down our throats without our approval as it is supposed to work for us and not against us. We already provide service for the poor in the Medicaid program, Seniors have paid into Medicare since its inception and had Big Government kept its paws out of the funds (last stole Medicare funds to support Obamacare), there would be no issues of funding. With my retirement I have a partially employer funded (I pay a reasonable share) medical plan for my Supplemental Part D. I am fully covered with the exception of a share of cost for prescriptions and I never have to worry about the Medigap problem. I can pick and choose my doctors and facilities for physical therapy, for outpatient services, and for hospitalization AND I do not have to stand in line or worry about being denied coverage unless I wanted a cosmetic procedure that has always been an out of pocket choice.
People always point to Canada, but I know people who have come to the US for procedures that have either a very long waiting list to have or that have been denied. Yes, they do a remarkable job for tourists that get ill or hurt while in Canada, but their citizens do not get the same care. A number of Canadians also go to Mexico for dental care, just like Americans because it is not affordable. I do not want the Federal Government telling me what insurance I have to have, what doctors I can see, or what prescriptions I can take. I also truly believe forcing us to become recipients of a government healthcare is a violation of our civil and Constitutional rights. This is part of the Liberal greed and need to have complete control over American Citizens and an attempt to destroy our country while establishing a dictatorship.
How can educated people not see this plan for what is really is, the left seizing power of everything over our lives. There would be no doctors left and people would die before they would be lucky enough to see a doctor. Where is the money coming from to pay for this monster? If the conservatives don’t get it together and stop this insanity, this country is doomed and we will certainly be like the people of Venezuela, eating out of garbage cans trying to feed out children.
The Bible states “a whole person needs not a physician”.. I’ve promised (The Lord) to make every effort to be that “whole” person and sworn off the medical profession.. So medical insurance doesn’t concern me although since retired I do have Medicare which I don’t even use but an of the understanding this is not up to the individual and you cannot refuse it..
Whatever happened to taking responsibility for one’s self and family? It appears that today Americans are looking for something for nothing. The Democrat party should use their true party name which is Communism. That’s when the government decides everything and is what they want. Franklin said ” We have a Republic if we can keep it” It does not appear we will keep it much longer.
I paid for my Medicare through my years of hard work. I don’t have enough to share. When I do, I will.
Why doesn’t congress try it out first and if it works so great for them, then let the people try it for themselves.
Don’t be a flock of sheep, stand up for what you think is the right thing do for you and your family
This is insane! Total government control over our health care will be disastrous! Less government in our lives is what we need. This is just the beginning of socialism!
This government sanctions killing babies who survive abortion attempts. It has made it ok to do so under the law. So why do you think the government won’t withhold care for certain diagnoses for the elderly because it is not cost effective which means you do not work anymore so you are not worth spending health care dollars on. People over 65 cost the government most of the health care expense in the country. You give them total control of your health care you give them the authority to reduce the numbers of elderly in this country, I mean they will let them die. Don’t think they won’t. They sell this on the basis that health care is too expensive but they want control. Of course the young people are for it because they want everything for nothing. They have been brainwashed in school and now are voters.
You know Congress will be exempt just like they were with Obamacare unless we say no to it all.
Remember our founding fathers worried about an overreaching government and wrote the constitution to protect us from such a government. They didn’t trust such a government then and we should not trust such a government today.
wow…Socialism at it’s finest…take away our rights to have our own doctor and tell us who we have to see..Come on people, are Americans too blind to see where this is taking us? This almost seems like a science fiction movie we are watching…slowly, steadily the government is taking over everything in our lives..these Democrats who think up this crap are going crazy…when are Americans going to stand up and say enough?? It is not the governments place to tell us these things…they work for US, not the other way around…..
Smacks of Communism, WAKE UP PEOPLE this just one more step to take over our lives.
Medicare for all, hopefully that includes congressmen and ALL government employees. They have such good health insurance and really have no clue what the rest of their constituents have to pay out of pocket. It is sad that the congress makes laws, but exempt themselves from following those laws and set up special programs for themselves. They do not pay into Social Security or Medicare and then dip into those funds to be used somewhere else instead of protecting the programs that are mandated for the rest of us. Originally F. D. Roosevelt and Congress set up the program to help people under the “Old Age Pension” who did not have any retirement plans. This was changed to FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) which includes Social Security Tax rate of 6.2% of employees pay and a matching contribution by the employer plus a Medicare tax of 1.45% of employees pay with a matching contribution by the employer, each pay period. The current monthly Medicare premium on my monthly Social Security income is 7.57%, which means that we are paying almost the same rate as a current employee (7.65%). If there is an additional retirement income the gross Social Security income is subject to additional income taxes. Most current workers are not aware that the taxes never stop. The majority workforce started at about age 20 and after 45 years of “retirement savings” the insurance is never paid up.
I am on Medicare and United Healthcare Medicare Advantage and seeing what they pay the doctors and hospitals, we may end up with no medical healthcare at all. With my Medicare premium($134 plus supplemental premium $236 and co-pays averages over $400 per month). I am lucky compared to what others in the workforce are now paying each month for themselves plus their family. Has anyone in congress stopped to understand that the planned retirement funds are continually being taxed until death?
So instead of letting us choose how much healthcare coverage we can afford, all of us taxpayers would be paying higher taxes with absolutely no choice in where we get services and medical care unless we have “spare” change left to pay the doctor upfront. This is just another version of HCA only with no option to not pay excess cost with no guaranteed services. The only ones who get anything out of this are those receiving “free “ benefits. ( that 46% who contributes nothing). And to add insult to injury, our politicians get to keep their special healthcare coverage plan, with no cuts in their services and coverage.
Stay healthy people especially us seniors who will definitely be affected by this plan.
My first question is, will our political representatives, including the president, live with the same healthcare constraints?
Second question, where is the Republican healthcare proposal?
Please no Medicare for all.
This bill should NEVER be allowed to pass. No one has a right to tell me what medical care I can or cannot receive. Not to mention that with a government take over we will be guaranteed MORE cost and LESS care. Why do you think that Canadians who spend the Winter in Florida seek so much health care and life saving surgery while on “vacation”? It is because in Canada they have to wait so long to get care that it is often too late when their turn comes. Government run health care is a DEATH Sentence to many who might otherwise survive!