Sen. Bernie Sanders rallies for Medicare-for-All, lauds McCain opposition to GOP health bill
A few hours before Sanders spoke, California Lt. Gov.
Their speeches came as
Sanders thanked McCain for his stance, calling the legislation "even worse" than previous
"Our struggle on this legislation is not over," the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate said. "We're going to defeat this disastrous Graham-Cassidy bill, and then we go on to pass Medicare-for-All."
Medicare is a single-payer system that currently covers people age 65 and older, and the state's single-payer bill sponsored by the nurses' association would replace all health insurance companies with a taxpayer-supported, state-run plan.
Friday's event felt like a campaign rally -- complete with the same Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack from Sanders' presidential primary ads -- and many attendees said they hoped to see him run for president again in 2020. "Run, Bernie, run!" they chanted as he came onstage.
The 76-year-old Sanders, who introduced his Medicare-for-All bill in the
Sanders' advocacy has already made single-payer, once considered a radical notion, part of the mainstream health care debate. A Harvard-Harris Poll released this week found that 52 percent of Americans favor a single-payer system, compared to 48 percent who oppose it.
"Medicare for senior citizens has worked, and we want Medicare to work for every man, woman and child in this country," Sanders said. "After decades of talk, now is the time to get it done."
Some
"We must be honest and acknowledge that with all the gains of the Affordable Care Act, it has not gone far enough," he said. "Maintaining the status quo is just not good enough."
About 2,000 people crowded into
Nurses passed around iPhone selfies of themselves with Sanders and shared horror stories of how cost-cutting insurance companies shafted their patients. Zenisa Quebral, an intensive care unit nurse in
"We see firsthand why we need Medicare-for-All," Quebral said.
"He's a champion," she said. "We see so much of our health care dollars wasted in profits, and he wants to use it for people."
Earlier Friday, Newsom voiced support for
"It's time to move 562 along," Newsom said to cheers and a standing ovation from the nurses. "It's time to do that now."
While he didn't explicitly endorse the bill in its current form, Newsom articulated his strongest support for it so far and vowed a "firm and absolute commitment" to pass universal health care if he's elected governor next year. "No one is saying it's perfect or complete, but that's not the point. That's what the legislative process is all about," he said.
In his speech, Newsom barely mentioned the Graham-Cassidy bill, but he later told reporters that the bill was "a potential tsunami the likes (of which) we never could have imagined" for
He rejected criticism from some
"Wherever it is down the line, when there is the next president of the
But he would have to wait for Sanders, she said: "Next time, hopefully, we want
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