Story highlights Sanders said he will push single payer legislation

He said there was still 'plenty of time' to decide on 2020

Washington (CNN) Two days after Republicans in the Senate failed to roll back Obamacare, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said there should be a government-funded health insurance option "in every state in this country."

"If people don't like the private insurance that they're getting, they should have a Medicare-type public option available in every state in this country," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Sanders, an independent senator who caucuses with Democrats and became a member of the Senate Democratic leadership following his presidential bid last year, has long made a call for universal coverage one of his key objectives.

Asked on Sunday if he would follow through on his pledge to submit single-payer legislation, in which the government would shoulder the health care costs for all, Sanders said, "Absolutely, of course we are."

As part of this new push for single-payer legislation, Sanders said his team was looking at a way to build a popular consensus around health care as a right, regardless of income level.

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