Funding Medicare for All could mean doubling tax rates, massive price increases, or exploding the deficit, according to a new report.
An analysis from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) reveals the enormous impact Medicare for All would have on spending, taxes, and the economy, a topic that many 2020 Democrats have been eager to avoid on the stump.
“By most estimates, Medicare for All would cost the federal government about $30 trillion over the next decade,” the report says. “How this cost is financed would have considerable distributional, economic, and policy implications.”
Medicare for All is generally estimated to cost around $3 trillion per year, roughly 75 percent of the federal budget. Questions about how the government will pay for such a program have plagued proponents, most notably Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).
Both candidates have emphasized that government-run health care will rely on higher taxes for millionaires and billionaires. The report concludes that a “tax the rich” approach targeting top earners, corporations, and Wall Street would not fund Medicare for All on its own.
“There is not enough annual income available among higher earners to finance the full cost of Medicare for All,” the report says. – READ MORE