What We Learned at the House Hearings on Medicare for All

“Medicare for All” sounds good until you see its high price tag and consider the implications it would have on the quality and access to health care.  The House Rules Committee held its first ever hearing Tuesday on the Democrats’ Medicare for All bill introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). The bill would implement a government takeover of health care coverage, where all medically necessary services would be paid for by the federal government and all private insurance that duplicates government coverage would be prohibited. Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute and a witness testifying against the bill, argued that it’s hard to see how patients would be more empowered when dealing with a single government payer for health care: “In a country that values diversity, will one program with one list of benefits and set of rules work for everyone?”