The Democratic hopeful gave specifics about his healthcare plan at a recent town hall forum.
Bernie Sanders has touted his “Medicare-for-all” universal healthcare system throughout the campaign trail—and that was no different at South Carolina’s town hall forum on Feb. 23. But what would healthcare really look like under his vision?
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The Vermont senator shed light on this plan at the forum, from his desire to create more affordable prescriptions to how he plans to transition the country to his program.
Why have universal healthcare in the first place?
Because the healthcare system is broken, Sanders said.
“Every major country on earth guarantees healthcare to all people,” he said at the town hall. “We, who have 29 million uninsured and many of you underinsured, pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and spend almost three times as much per capita than the British, 50 percent more than the French and far more than the Canadians.”
Sanders also challenged Americans to have the courage to stand up and demand the right for universal healthcare.
“The real issue here is do we have the guts to take on the power of the insurance companies? Do we have the guts to take on the pharmaceutical industry?”
How is Sanders going to fund universal healthcare?
Sanders has consistently pointed to Wall Street as the way to fund his healthcare program—and he did so again at the town hall.
“The top one-tenth of one percent of the population in America now owns as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. I think that is wrong. So here it is folks, you can like it or not, this is my view: We are going to ask profitable, multi-national corporations and the rich to start paying their fair share of taxes,” he said.
In previous debates, the presidential hopeful said a 6.2 percent payroll tax on employers and 2.2 percent income tax on all Americans would also help fund his healthcare program.
How will he prevent job loss in the healthcare industry?
Sanders said his healthcare system would create thousands of new jobs.
“When we deal with problems and high deductibles and copayments and more people get the healthcare they want and need, we are going to have all kinds of jobs open up in healthcare. The first people in line should be those people who are currently in the private health insurance industry.”
Along with healthcare issues, both Sanders and Hillary Clinton spoke about race and equality, targeting black voters who will play a crucial rule in South Carolina’s primary.
The town hall forum was a big night for Sanders, who currently trails Clinton by 18 points in the state. This was his last big chance to gain voters before South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 27.
*Note: This news coverage does not equate to an endorsement of any candidate by NFIB.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
