The Basics of ‘Medicare for All’

It’s possible you’ve tuned out when the Democrats running for president have tussled over “Medicare for all.” But now that Bernie Sanders, who introduced the Medicare for All Act in the Senate, is ascending in the nominating contest, it’s a good time to take a closer look at what it would mean for the health system, your health insurance and finances, and the federal budget.

Here’s our quick primer, with some suggestions for further reading.

Would it be a big change?
Yes. When you think about Medicare for all, it is more helpful to focus on the “all” part than the “Medicare” part. Mr. Sanders’s proposal would set up a brand-new government health insurance system, with many more benefits than Medicare. Everyone in the United States would get health insurance from this new, generous government system. Existing private health insurance plans would be eliminated. So would insurance premiums, deductibles and co-payments.

Medicare for all insurance would cover many services that most health plans omit now, including dental care, eyeglasses, hearing aids and home-based long-term care for people with disabilities.