Sanders prepares legislation and strategy for single-payer push

“What has to be understood is that if we were to pass a Medicare-for-all bill, this would be the most significant piece of legislation, in my view, domestic piece of legislation, since the 1930s,” he said. “We will learn from all failures and try to develop that coalition that can finally give the people of the United States what every other major country has.”

By: NEAL P. GOSWAMI | 1 HOUR AGO

Excerpts:

MONTPELIER — With a re-election bid looming in 2018 and a potential second presidential run further on the horizon in 2020, Sen. Bernie Sanders is focusing his time, attention and campaign dollars on drumming up support for a complete overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

The 75-year-old independent senator is almost assured re-election to the Senate if and when he officially declares his candidacy. Whether he will launch a second bid for the White House is less clear. While the country attempts to catch its breath after the furious but failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Sanders is prepping a new national campaign to build support for a Medicare-for-all single payer health care system.

Sanders is stepping into the breach with an alternative — a Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system. It’s not an original concept, and certainly not a new proposal for Sanders. Since joining the House in 1991 where he served before his election to the Senate in 2006, Sanders has introduced or co-sponsored 12 bills seeking a single payer system. “This is not a new idea for me. I’ve been an advocate for a Medicare-for-all single-payer system my whole career,” he said. “Right now, we are kind of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts.”

Aides say the legislation will be unveiled when senators return to Washington in September. It’s part of a gamed-out, three-part act, from the immediate goal of saving the ACA from Republican efforts to undermine it, to patching the system in the short-term and then finally implementing Sanders’ panacea.

“This legislation is not going to be won overnight. I suspect at least tens and tens of millions of dollars will be spent against us,” he said. “What you’re going to need is a groundswell and a very, very strong grassroots movement, which is part of what I have called the political revolution.”

http://www.vermontpressbureau.com/2017/08/11/sanders-prepares-legislation-and-strategy-for-single-payer-push/