As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s backup plan to repeal the ACA without a replacement
crumbled on Tuesday after losing the support of four members of his own party, Democrats rallied around a policy that’s nearly the exact opposite of McConnell’s — single-payer health care.
The bill, H.R.676, now has
115 cosponsors in the House and support from the majority of the chamber’s Democratic members. The bill has been gathering momentum since April, when it gained 32 co-sponsors, and it is winning converts as more lawmakers view it as an acceptable alternative to the Republicans’ various versions of the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Additionally, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,
said embracing single payer was “the next step” for her party.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.,
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. have also expressed their support for the legislation in recent weeks. Even former Vice President and presidential candidate Al Gore has spoken out in favor of single-payer health care.
“The private sector has not shown any ability to provide good, affordable health care for all,”
Gore said at a promotional event for his new climate change documentary at Borough of Manhattan Community College on Tuesday. “I believe we ought to have single-payer health care.”
This is not the first time lawmakers have tried to bring single-payer health care to the U.S. The California State Senate passed a bill last month to create a single-payer health care system for all residents of the state that is now headed to the state assembly for consideration. A referendum on a proposed single-payer system in Colorado made it to ballots in November, but was rejected by voters.
Currently, the United States is one of the few developed nations in the world that does not provide government-funded health care for all its residents.
The bill to establish a nationwide single payer health care system was first introduced to Congress in 2003.
— Taylor Rogers" data-reactid="105" style="margin-bottom: 1em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;">The bill to establish a nationwide single payer health care system was first introduced to Congress in 2003.
— Taylor Rogers