Bernie Sanders is right about Obamacare: Here’s why it’s time to talk about single-payer

Bernie Sanders is right about Obamacare: Here’s why it’s time to talk about single-payer



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EnlargeBernie Sanders(Credit: AP/Andrew Harnik)

The Clinton campaign warns that the single-payer health insurance program proposed by Bernie Sanders would take away coverage and raise taxes, entirely misleading criticisms of the sort that Republicans typically make. One Clinton criticism, however, is political. Clinton argues that “we finally have a path to universal healthcare” and that single-payer would force us to “start over again with a contentious debate. I want us to defend and build on the Affordable Care Act and improve it.”

What we don’t really know, as Greg Sargent points out, is precisely what sort of path to universal coverage Obamacare might provide. That’s because Obamacare is not universal. Instead, it locks in many of the worst features of the private insurance system and forces American consumers to pick up the tab.

Polls consistently show a slight majority opposed to the law. And many people have very good reasons to dislike it.