A single-payer system is an affordable way to expand health care to everyone in America.

The Wall Street Journal claimed in a widely read article that US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ campaign proposals may cost the government about $18 trillion over ten years.

Chief among those expenses is Sanders’ intention to establish a universal single-payer health care system, which The Journal, citing a study done by economist Gerald Friedman, said would cost about $15 trillion.

The Journal is right that Sanders’ proposals would require plenty of money, and the quoted figures are fairly accurate. But the newspaper conveniently forgot how much the proposals can also save, both in the short- and long-terms.

For starters, having a single-payer can dramatically increase the efficiency of the American health care system and increase the consumer’s bargaining power against the powerful pharmaceutical industry.

In this video, Friedman explains why Bernie Sanders’ proposals would save, rather than cost, money.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Photo Credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

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