Bernie Sanders Uses Obamacare Decision to Call for Medicare for All

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:36 pm

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Bernie Sanders praised the Affordable Care Act as important step in the right direction towards a Medicare for all system.

In a statement Sen. Sanders said,

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Bernie Sanders welcomed the ruling. “Today is a good day for millions of Americans who have pre-existing conditions who can no longer be rejected by insurance companies. It is a good day for families with children under 26 who can keep their children on their health insurance policies. It is a good day for women who can no longer be charged far higher premiums than men.

It is a good day for 30 million uninsured Americans who will have access to healthcare. It is a good day for seniors who will continue to see their prescription drug costs go down as the so-called doughnut hole goes away. It is a good day for small businesses who simply cannot continue to afford the escalating costs of providing insurance for their employees. It is a good day for 20 million Americans who will soon be able to find access to community health centers.

It is an especially good day for the state of Vermont, which stands to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in additional federal funds to help our state achieve universal health care.

In my view, while the Affordable Care Act is an important step in the right direction and I am glad that the Supreme Court upheld it, we ultimately need to do better. If we are serious about providing high-quality, affordable healthcare as a right, not a privilege, the real solution to America’s health care crisis is a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system. Until then, we will remain the only major nation that does not provide health care for every man, woman and child as a right of citizenship.

I am proud that Vermont is making steady progress toward implementing a single-payer system. I hope our state will be a model to show the rest of the nation how to provide better care at less cost to more people.

Sen. Sanders is right on all counts. The upholding of the Affordable Care Act is a good day for millions of Americans who benefit from the ACA, but this is not the final step in the process. The reason why this Supreme Court decision was so monumental today was because it signaled that the nation has overcome a major obstacle towards universal health care. Obamacare isn’t just an historic political accomplishment, it is a major policy accomplishment.

Despite years of lies, distortions, and smears, the right was not able to stop progress, and make no mistake about it, the Affordable Care Act is progress. But progress alone is not enough, we as a nation should not be satisfied until every American has healthcare, not just access to healthcare, but coverage. Unless the Republicans are able to gut and kill Medicare in the next few years, this nation is moving towards a Medicare for all system.

The progress has been slow and hard, but progress has finally arrived. Sen. Sanders isn’t content with the victories of today, when the dreams of tomorrow have yet to be realized.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association