Bernie And The Single-Payer Beast

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Earlier this month, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reintroduced his signature Medicare for All legislation alongside 14 of his Democratic colleagues at a Senate Budget Committee hearing.

With a little perseverance and a touch of political magic, Sanders is hoping his government-run healthcare fairytale, which he has championed for years during his time in the House and Senate, will finally become reality.

For patients, that’d be anything but a happy ending. Medicare for All would subject Americans to long waits for subpar care.

To see how, look to the inspiration for Sen. Sanders’s single-payer vision—Canada. North of the border, health care is largely free at the point of service. That keeps demand for treatment high.

But with a limited supply of physicians—Canada has fewer than three per 1,000 people, one of the lowest ratios among developed countries—the country’s single-payer system is unable to meet people’s needs.

Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.

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