1 September 2018 - The single-payer national health-care bill, so-called Medicare for All, is gaining momentum with the public but is stalling in Congress.

As congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump continue to hobble the health insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), some Democratic lawmakers are doing more than defending the ACA. They are calling for a single-payer government-run Medicare for All. In Congress as well as in some state legislatures, Democrats are embracing the Medicare for All Act, legislation proposed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

The act would essentially transform the US health-care landscape by extending coverage to all residents, consolidating Medicare—which covers older or disabled adults—the ACA marketplaces, and most other government health programmes into one, and nearly eliminating private health insurance policies. Sanders introduced the legislation in the Senate last year, where it is supported by 16 other Democrats but has seen no further action. A companion bill met a similar fate in the House of Representatives, where it has 123 Democratic cosponsors.

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