Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Reporting on "Medicare for All" Makes Media Forget How Math Works - Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting

Missing from neagtive headlines about the "Medicare For All" plan was the fact that it's projected to cost $2.1 trillion less than projections of spending under the current US healthcare system.

“Medicare for All,” a federally funded universal healthcare plan championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont–Ind.), has quickly become a key issue for progressive voters evaluating Democratic Party candidates for the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential race.

A study projected that Sanders’ Medicare for All system, assuming it was enacted in 2022, would cost the federal government a whopping $32.6 trillion in excess spending over the course of 10 years.

Missing from the negative headlines about this plan was an important point in Blahous’ study: In terms of total (federal, state and private) spending on healthcare, Sanders’ Medicare for All plan is actually projected to cost $2.1 trillion less than projections of spending under the current US healthcare system.

And, of course, the media chorus complaining about how much a program like Medicare for All adds to the federal debt fades to a whimper when it comes to enacting trillion-dollar tax cuts for the rich, providing billions in corporate welfare, or for continuing to fight endless and fruitless overseas wars with America’s $700 billion–a–year military budget.

The full article is available here