Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Democrats will consider supporting a “single-payer” health care system in the near future.
Schumer’s comments come as Democrats prepare to unroll a new economic agenda this week. The top Senate Democrat emphasized that his party is going to bring a fresh perspective to economic issues.
"Week after week, month after month, we're going to roll out specific pieces here that are quite different than the Democratic Party you heard in the past,” Schumer said.
During the interview, Schumer also acknowledged that part of the reason Democrats lost the White House last year was because the party lacked a strong and unified economic message. This new plan intends to change that, in addition to appealing to Democrats who voted for President Donald Trump, he said.
"We were too cautious, we were too namby-pamby, this is sharp, bold and will appeal to both the old Obama coalition,” Schumer said, "and the Democratic voters who deserted us for Trump."
Schumer later explained that single-payer style health care is something Democrats are considering throwing their support behind.
"We’re going to look at broader things … single-payer is one of them,” Schumer said. "Many things are on the table."
Single-payer health care is a health care system that is completely paid for by the government and is afforded to all people regardless of income or socioeconomic status. It is controversial in America because it’s seen as a very socialistic style of health care, given that in single-payer, the government completely controls the system.
To boot, single-payer health care is completely financed by taxpayers. And given the government’s history of wasteful entitlement spending and large entitlement debt, many people believe single-payer health care will lead to a more bloated and inefficient government that taxes its people even more.
Currently, only the Senate’s most progressive members, like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), openly support and advocate for a single-payer health care system in America.
In recent weeks, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and former Vice President Al Gore have also said they support single-payer health care.
