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An equally large problem is that employers are not likely to pass on the savings they'd accrue from not having to buy insurance. That's not how capitalism works.

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Sanders has been messaging this exact cost transfer for some time. 2 debates ago, in the post-debate interview, he was asked "aren't you going to raise taxes to fund your Medicare for all plan?" He appropriately responded (and I'm paraphrasing), "Stop it with this Republican talking point. The reality is you're already paying for your healthcare through employer-deducted premium with co-pays, deductibles and other expenses on top. I don't know what you call those insurance costs but I call them taxes! All I'm doing is transferring those payments from employer deductions to Medicare for all deductions." This is a VERY difficult talking point for the average American who doesn't pay much attention to understand: Medicare for all isn't a new tax. It's a transfer of to whom you already contribute for your healthcare.

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Oct 22, 2019Liked by John Stoehr

I'm an activist for M4A, and I agree that the movement needs to do deep education about what it will mean for people who now have excellent health insurance as part of their compensation package. We need a real plan that describes the incremental steps that are necessary to get to Medicare for All, that addresses the question of what will happen to people who have good health insurance now. Here in California, the California Physicians Alliance (caphysiciansalliance.org) is working on a Road Map that will get California to universal coverage, and then single payer, over time. The administrative changes to get paychecks into the pockets of doctors, nurses, etc. must be figured out and implemented; this can't happen overnight. We also need to be sure that people know that our systems of care (Kaiser cares for about 25% of Californians) will remain in place, and we will *still* be able to choose our providers.

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