Today, I released the following statement on the Senate introduction of Medicare for All legislation:

“The Affordable Care Act has done a great deed for our nation in providing millions who were uninsured with health insurance. It is vital that we continue to protect and build on this progress; however, it’s a fact that there are still millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance or have high-deductible plans that they can’t afford to use.

“I’ve been introducing H.R. 676, The Expanded And Improved Medicare For All Act since 2003. Under my bill, instead of a complicated, expensive network of exchanges and employer-sponsored plans and networks administered by for-profit insurance companies that some people can afford and many others can’t, we would have one health insurance plan, one health insurer and one network available to every single American. In other words, we would finally have guaranteed, universal healthcare. I’m proud that we currently have 118 House Democrats who cosponsored the legislation — a majority of the Democratic Caucus.

“I applaud Senator Bernie Sanders’ introduction of the Senate companion to my Medicare for All bill and all of the momentum he has garnered in support of a universal single-payer healthcare system.

“Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege for those who can afford it. It deserves to be an essential service provided by the government, no different than fire departments, public schools, and military protection.