President says he would veto senator’s Medicare for All single-payer plan, prompting quick rebuke from Sanders

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Donald Trump on Thursday called Bernie Sanders’ universal healthcare plan a “curse on the US and its people” and promised to veto the measure if it ever landed on his desk.



Bernie Sanders unveils universal healthcare bill: 'We will win this struggle' Read more

It will not do so. Sanders unveiled his Medicare for All proposal on Wednesday with the admission that it had virtually no chance of passing a Republican-controlled Congress.

“Bernie Sanders is pushing hard for a single payer healthcare plan – a curse on the US and its people,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “I told Republicans to approve healthcare fast or this would happen. But don’t worry, I will veto because I love our country and its people.”

The Vermont senator shot back: “No, Mr President, providing healthcare to every man, woman and child as a right is not a curse. It’s exactly what we should be doing.

“What is a curse is your support for throwing 23 million off health insurance. That’s the curse and we won’t allow you to get away with it.”

Sanders formally introduced his single-player proposal with the backing of 16 Democrats, record support for a concept until recently derided as a liberal fantasy.

Under his plan, Medicare – a federal health insurance program available to people 65 and older and some people with disabilities – would be expanded over four years. In the first year, the eligibility age would be lowered to 55 and access opened to children through age 18. The age of eligibility would be gradually lowered until the program was open to “every resident of the United States”.

Not included is an accounting of how to pay for the program, which would radically transform the US healthcare system and economy. Sanders separately released a white paper on possible ways to pay for the bill.

Trump is still fuming at Republicans for failing to fulfill seven years of promises and repeal Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA). Aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump blamed Senator John McCain, who felled a Republican effort to overhaul the law in a late-night vote in July.

“It was a very unpleasant surprise,” Trump said. “Now we have people talking about single-payer. So Republicans have to stick together better. We had the votes.”

Dreamers: Trump seems to confirm he's 'working on a plan' with Democrats Read more

Trump was once open to the idea of universal healthcare. In a 2015 interview with CBS, he said: “I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.”

Trump admitted it was an “un-Republican” position, but said he felt strongly.

Days before his inauguration in January, he told the Washington Post he wanted “insurance for everybody”. Once in office, though, he joined Republicans in pushing for the repeal of the ACA, celebrating the passage of a House Republican bill with a ceremony in the White House rose garden.

Trump later called the House bill, under which an estimated 22 million people could have lost access to health insurance, “mean” and urged the Senate to draft legislation with “heart”.

The Democratic leadership has yet to embrace Sanders’ plan but there is broad agreement that reforms to the ACA should expand coverage. Republicans are split on healthcare, with some wanting to tear down the entire law and others aiming to protect pieces that have helped expand coverage in their states.