Story highlights The Vermont senator's plan would funnel all Americans into a government-run health insurance program similar to the Medicare program

The plan comes with a hefty price tag: $1.38 trillion a year

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) Bernie Sanders released his Medicare-for-all health care plan Sunday, detailing how he'd implement a decades-old liberal dream just two hours before Democrats start their final debate before the February 1 Iowa caucuses.

The Vermont senator's plan would funnel all Americans into a government-run health insurance program similar to the Medicare program that already covers senior citizens.

"Universal health care is an idea that has been supported in the United States by Democratic presidents going back to Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman," Sanders said in a statement. "It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege."

The plan comes with a hefty price tag: $1.38 trillion per year, according to calculations released by the Sanders campaign. It would provide comprehensive care to all Americans, covering doctors' visits, hospital stays, long-term and hospice care, vision, dental, mental health and prescription drugs.

To pay for it, Sanders is calling for a new 2.2% income tax on all Americans and a 6.2% levy on employers. But he would also hike taxes on the wealthy.

Read More