Bernie Sanders’ new Medicare for All bill would cover some long-term care

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday released an updated bill to implement a single-payer health insurance system, a politically divisive hallmark of his White House bid.

The unnumbered Senate bill would transition the U.S. health care system to a single-payer system over a four-year transition and eliminate nearly all premiums, co-pays and deductibles. The legislation largely mirrors Sanders’ 2017 proposal, but the new plan also would cover home and community-based long-term care services through an expanded Medicare program, according to a summary. The earlier version would have maintained those services through existing Medicaid benefits.

The “Medicare for All” legislation appears destined to receive more attention on the campaign trail than in Congress. The concept, which the Vermont independent senator ran on during his unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign, has become more popular since then. Still, Sanders’ single-payer bill secured just 14 Democratic Senate co-sponsors, fewer than the 16 that signed on by last year.