Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that she has signed on to the Medicare-For-All Act of 2017 as an original cosponsor. The bill, which will be introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, includes a major provision written by Senator Gillibrand that would allow Americans to buy into a public health insurance plan during the transition period to single-payer.
Senator Gillibrand’s statement is below:
“Health care should be a right, not a privilege, so I will be joining Senator Bernie Sanders as a cosponsor on his Medicare-for-All legislation. And I was especially pleased to work with my colleagues to help write the section of the bill about letting every American buy into a not-for-profit public option, as part of the four-year transition period that leads to single-payer. This would create an affordable, public health care plan that’s available to any American to purchase through the already-existing insurance exchanges.
“As I’ve been traveling around New York, the number one thing I keep hearing from New Yorkers is that people are very worried that their health care is still too expensive. Under the health care system we have now, too many insurance companies continue to value their profits more than they value the people they are supposed to be helping. It’s time for something better.
“So I’ll be fighting with Bernie – and I hope with all of you – to pass Medicare-for-All and finally give every American access to affordable, good-quality health care.”