Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Nov 2017
How exactly would single payer health care work?
30 November 2017 - Whether you call it single payer or Medicare for all, the idea of a government-sponsored universal health care system, no matter how contentiously debated, continues to infiltrate the health care discussion.
The idea of universal health care reemerged during the 2016 presidential primary campaign as one of Bernie Sanders' main platforms. In September, Sanders, I-Vermont, introduced a "Medicare for All" bill into the Senate with the full knowledge it would likely go nowhere -- for now. In August, Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, reintroduced an expanded and improved Medicare for All bill in the House.
Both bills would convert the current many-payer system -- insurance companies, states, the federal government -- into a government-sponsored, tax-supported health care system. As in many other countries, every US citizen would receive health care, and it would essentially be paid for by one source, the government.
