Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced the American Health Security Act of 2009 (.pdf; 244Kb) yesterday. The proposed legislation calls for a national single-payer, universal coverage healthcare system that would be administered by the individual states. Sanders’ bill draws heavily on a proposal introduced by the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) in 1993 and is in close alignment with H.R. 1200 introduced by Representative Jim McDermott (D-Washington) in 2005.
In contrast to other plans that would preserve the private health insurance industry in a central role, the Sanders plan would eliminate them.
Sanders’ plan would, of course, cover all 46 million uninsured American citizens while simultaneously expanding benefits for those with existing health insurance by restoring free choice of providers and eliminating all co-pays and deductibles. In contrast to other plans, Sanders’ plan is the most fiscally conservative, saving more than US$400 billion each year in administrative overhead expenses. The program would be funded by aggregating governmental spending on healthcare into a single fund along with new taxes amounting to less than what citizens currently pay for private health insurance.
It’s important that this proposed legislation get a fair and thorough hearing. Fully two-thirds of the US citizenry and 59% of US physicians support a single-payer plan.
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