“You’re damn right” Medicare for All would eliminate private health insurance
The policy discussion around Medicare for All continues to heat up as proposals in both the House and Senate are debated. One key element that some supporters of the legislation are trying to hedge on: the elimination of employer and union-sponsored health insurance.
Last week the New York Times did a deep dive into the massive scale of disruption that would be necessary under Medicare for All and found “there’s no precedent in American history.”
But one proponent of Medicare for All makes no bones about the proposal’s plan to totally eliminate the employer-sponsored market that currently covers nearly 160 million Americans.
Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders responded to a tweet about eliminating private health insurance with the simple message: “You’re damn right.”
Combined with Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ very public support for eliminating the entire private health insurance market, it is clear that liberals are increasingly determined to put government in control of every aspect of health care, ignoring that the vast majority of Americans like their current coverage. Surely Harris knows that more than 18 million Californians currently receive insurance through their employer, right?
See the full state by state breakdown of employer-sponsored insurance below or HERE.
| Timeframe: 2017 | |
| Location | ESI Population |
| United States | 156,199,800.00 |
| Alabama | 2,179,900.00 |
| Alaska | 320,700.00 |
| Arizona | 3,075,100.00 |
| Arkansas | 1,208,600.00 |
| California | 18,253,400.00 |
| Colorado | 2,771,900.00 |
| Connecticut | 1,871,900.00 |
| Delaware | 494,500.00 |
| District of Columbia | 349,700.00 |
| Florida | 8,155,800.00 |
| Georgia | 4,922,000.00 |
| Hawaii | 734,100.00 |
| Idaho | 782,500.00 |
| Illinois | 6,675,200.00 |
| Indiana | 3,419,700.00 |
| Iowa | 1,684,000.00 |
| Kansas | 1,539,300.00 |
| Kentucky | 1,999,600.00 |
| Louisiana | 1,974,300.00 |
| Maine | 639,100.00 |
| Maryland | 3,310,300.00 |
| Massachusetts | 3,655,700.00 |
| Michigan | 4,994,900.00 |
| Minnesota | 3,132,200.00 |
| Mississippi | 1,211,100.00 |
| Missouri | 3,052,200.00 |
| Montana | 445,800.00 |
| Nebraska | 1,033,200.00 |
| Nevada | 1,451,300.00 |
| New Hampshire | 743,200.00 |
| New Jersey | 4,939,800.00 |
| New Mexico | 738,800.00 |
| New York | 9,536,300.00 |
| North Carolina | 4,611,100.00 |
| North Dakota | 421,100.00 |
| Ohio | 5,897,600.00 |
| Oklahoma | 1,723,800.00 |
| Oregon | 1,912,500.00 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,467,000.00 |
| Rhode Island | 520,500.00 |
| South Carolina | 2,205,500.00 |
| South Dakota | 437,400.00 |
| Tennessee | 3,112,200.00 |
| Texas | 13,126,800.00 |
| Utah | 1,831,800.00 |
| Vermont | 278,000.00 |
| Virginia | 4,369,800.00 |
| Washington | 3,748,100.00 |
| West Virginia | 755,100.00 |
| Wisconsin | 3,191,800.00 |
| Wyoming | 293,700.00 |
| Puerto Rico | 772,900.00 |
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
