Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Democrats must lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 55 as an “immediate first step” toward Medicare for All, while separately adding that he is “not absolutely certain that Trump would not sign it.”
Sanders made the remarks on Thursday in an interview with MS NOW host Chris Hayes about the Democratic wins in the midterm elections and what Democrats will do with their new power.
A day earlier, in a video address on his YouTube channel, he said Democrats “must lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 down to 55, expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing, and guarantee universal health care coverage for every child from birth through age 19.” He said “all of this can be accomplished with 51 votes in the Senate through the reconciliation process,” the budget process that lets the Senate pass certain measures with a simple majority.
Sanders Outlines Medicare Expansion
In the same YouTube address, Sanders said Democrats must “repeal the trillion dollars in cuts Trump made to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to prevent 15 million Americans from losing their healthcare.” He also said they must “restore ACA tax credits to stop the outrageous premium spikes for 20 million Americans.” Those figures are Sanders’ own claims, and he did not cite a source for them in the video.
“Health care must be considered as a human right, not a privilege,” Sanders said, adding that Medicare for All is “now supported by 66% of the American people.”
Sanders and Hayes Debate Trump’s Veto
During the MS NOW interview, Sanders said Medicare for All is supported by “over 60%” of Americans. Hayes then said polling on it has gone up, but that the odds of President Donald Trump signing it into law are “pretty small.”
Sanders replied that Trump has the constitutional right to veto, but that Democrats have the right “to pass the damn thing.” He said Trump “is a good politician” who, seeing that the system is broken, may ask what he has to lose.
“I am not absolutely certain that Trump would not sign it, but whether he would or not, our job is to produce it,” Sanders said. “He wants to veto it. Republicans want to sustain that veto. That is their responsibility, the American people will see it.”
Other Democrats Float Medicare Plans
Other Democrats had already floated their own Medicare proposals before Sanders’ remarks. Newly elected U.S. Senator Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) had outlined a three-step plan to reach Medicare for All: make Medicare whole, include vision, dental and hearing coverage, and extend it to more people, starting with children. He said eligibility would then move down from 65 to 60 and “down into the 50s.” Original Medicare generally does not cover routine dental care, eye exams for prescription glasses or hearing aids.
After the midterms, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) had called for “Medicare for All” and a “$25 living wage” in a post on X, listing taxes on billionaires among his priorities. In an MS NOW interview with host Peter Alexander, he said Democrats should pass the agenda through the House and Senate and force Trump to veto it. Khanna argued that a veto could set the stage for “a new bold progressive era for our nation.”
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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