SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hold signs during an event on health care September 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sen. Sanders held an event to introduce the Medicare for All Act of 2017. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Bernie Sanders Thanks Koch Brothers for 'Accidentally Making the Case for Medicare for All'
"I suspect that that is not what the Koch brothers intended to do, but that is what's in the study of the Mercatus Center."
Jul 31, 2018
After a study by the Koch Brothers-funded Mercatus Center that was clearly designed as a deceptive attack on Medicare for All inadvertently bolstered the economic case for single-payer--which is rapidly growing in popularity among the public and U.S. lawmakers--Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday released a video thanking Charles and David Koch for backing an analysis showing that his plan for universal coverage would save $2 trillion over ten years.
"Let me thank the Koch brothers, of all people, for sponsoring a study that shows that Medicare for All would save the American people $2 trillion dollars," Sanders said. "I suspect that that is not what the Koch brothers intended to do, but that is what's in the study of the Mercatus Center."
"At a time when the United States spends far more per capita on healthcare than any other country on Earth, almost 18 percent of our GDP, a Medicare for All healthcare system would save the average family significant sums of money," the Vermont senator added.
Watch:
\u201cThank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All!\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1532993415
Speaking to The Intercept on Monday, health policy experts and co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler argued that even the "whopping" $2 trillion in savings projected by the Koch-backed study vastly overstates the costs of implementing Medicare for All and "grossly" understates the savings that would result.
"The Mercatus Center's estimate of the cost of implementing Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All Act projects outlandish increases in the utilization of medical care, ignores vast savings under single-payer reform, and fails to even mention the extensive and well-documented evidence on single-payer systems in other nations--which all spend far less per person on health care than we do," Himmelstein and Woolhandler said.
According to an analysis by David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler viewed by The Intercept's Ryan Grim and Zaid Jilani, the Mercatus Center's "report undercounts administrative savings by more than $8.3 trillion over 10 years. Taking those savings into account would lower Blahous's estimate from $32.6 trillion to $24.3 trillion."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
bernie sanderscorporate powerhealthcareinequalitykoch brothersmedicaremedicare for allphysicians for a national health program (pnhp)single-payer
After a study by the Koch Brothers-funded Mercatus Center that was clearly designed as a deceptive attack on Medicare for All inadvertently bolstered the economic case for single-payer--which is rapidly growing in popularity among the public and U.S. lawmakers--Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday released a video thanking Charles and David Koch for backing an analysis showing that his plan for universal coverage would save $2 trillion over ten years.
"Let me thank the Koch brothers, of all people, for sponsoring a study that shows that Medicare for All would save the American people $2 trillion dollars," Sanders said. "I suspect that that is not what the Koch brothers intended to do, but that is what's in the study of the Mercatus Center."
"At a time when the United States spends far more per capita on healthcare than any other country on Earth, almost 18 percent of our GDP, a Medicare for All healthcare system would save the average family significant sums of money," the Vermont senator added.
Watch:
\u201cThank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All!\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1532993415
Speaking to The Intercept on Monday, health policy experts and co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler argued that even the "whopping" $2 trillion in savings projected by the Koch-backed study vastly overstates the costs of implementing Medicare for All and "grossly" understates the savings that would result.
"The Mercatus Center's estimate of the cost of implementing Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All Act projects outlandish increases in the utilization of medical care, ignores vast savings under single-payer reform, and fails to even mention the extensive and well-documented evidence on single-payer systems in other nations--which all spend far less per person on health care than we do," Himmelstein and Woolhandler said.
According to an analysis by David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler viewed by The Intercept's Ryan Grim and Zaid Jilani, the Mercatus Center's "report undercounts administrative savings by more than $8.3 trillion over 10 years. Taking those savings into account would lower Blahous's estimate from $32.6 trillion to $24.3 trillion."
After a study by the Koch Brothers-funded Mercatus Center that was clearly designed as a deceptive attack on Medicare for All inadvertently bolstered the economic case for single-payer--which is rapidly growing in popularity among the public and U.S. lawmakers--Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday released a video thanking Charles and David Koch for backing an analysis showing that his plan for universal coverage would save $2 trillion over ten years.
"Let me thank the Koch brothers, of all people, for sponsoring a study that shows that Medicare for All would save the American people $2 trillion dollars," Sanders said. "I suspect that that is not what the Koch brothers intended to do, but that is what's in the study of the Mercatus Center."
"At a time when the United States spends far more per capita on healthcare than any other country on Earth, almost 18 percent of our GDP, a Medicare for All healthcare system would save the average family significant sums of money," the Vermont senator added.
Watch:
\u201cThank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All!\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1532993415
Speaking to The Intercept on Monday, health policy experts and co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler argued that even the "whopping" $2 trillion in savings projected by the Koch-backed study vastly overstates the costs of implementing Medicare for All and "grossly" understates the savings that would result.
"The Mercatus Center's estimate of the cost of implementing Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All Act projects outlandish increases in the utilization of medical care, ignores vast savings under single-payer reform, and fails to even mention the extensive and well-documented evidence on single-payer systems in other nations--which all spend far less per person on health care than we do," Himmelstein and Woolhandler said.
According to an analysis by David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler viewed by The Intercept's Ryan Grim and Zaid Jilani, the Mercatus Center's "report undercounts administrative savings by more than $8.3 trillion over 10 years. Taking those savings into account would lower Blahous's estimate from $32.6 trillion to $24.3 trillion."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.