Episode 40: A Refresher on Single Payer Health Care and Medicare for All

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley hit refresh on the single payer health care discussion in the US. Suzanne breaks down the different terms that are used in the discussion, including ‘single payer system,’ ‘Medicare for all,' ‘universal health coverage,' ‘national health plans’ and ‘socialized medicine.’ Chase and Suzanne describe the importance of understanding those terms and the marketing behind them during this election season as the debate marches towards November. Suzanne describes and compares legislation at the state level in California and New York, and how similar legislation has fared in other states such as Colorado and Vermont. Suzanne and Chase outline the primary barriers to single payer systems in all their forms, including increased taxes, resistance from insurance carriers and health care providers, and a Republican-led federal government. The two close discussing what it all means for employers, and how the employer-provided health insurance might have a place in a single payer system.