The time is now: Medicare for all

From The Politico, via Don McCanne's single payer "Quote of the Day" comes the announcement of Kennedy/Dingells version of Medicare for All.

If there is ever a time to solve our national crisis, it is now. I  believe that the best plan for the nation is to build on a program that all Americans know and respect by creating Medicare for All.  

Medicare administrative costs are low. Patient satisfaction is high.  Patients can choose their doctors and hospitals. And all Americans will be free from the fear of medical expenses and able to seek the best possible care when illness strikes.

Today, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and I are introducing legislation to extend Medicare to all Americans, from birth to the end of life. In addition, our plan will reduce costs and improve quality, including more effective use of health information technology. It also puts a new emphasis on preventive care, because preventing illness before it occurs is always better and less expensive than treating patients after they become ill.

Our proposal will be entirely voluntary. Americans who wish to stay in their current employer-sponsored plans can do so, and employers can tailor their health plans to provide additional services to their employees that wrap around Medicare coverage. Those who prefer private insurance can choose any of the plans offered to members of Congress and the president.

For the full text of S1218 & HR2034, the "Medicare for All Act": http://thomas.loc.gov/ (Insert "HR2034" into the search box, click "Bill Number" and click "Search". S1218 is the same bill, but it has not yet been posted on Thomas.)

This is far less than Representative John Conyers' HR-676. It is close to John Edwards plan insofar as it leaves in place the private for profit sector, and tries to offer a competing Federal universal insurance. It is a lot more than anything Clinton or Obama have committed to. Which says a lot more about them than about this bill.

What we do now have is several senior Democrats, who are Chairs of various key committees and subcommittees in the House and Senate backing various real reform bills.
I'm still going to work for and push both House and Senate and all presidential candidates for HR 676, but I am happy to see more and more debate and plans being discussed.