The Case for ‘Medicare for All’

This election season, many leading Democrats have come out in favor of "Medicare for All," the single-payer health care plan from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The bill, which two years ago hardly had any support, is now popular with about a third of the Senate Democratic caucus, including many rumored 2020 presidential candidates.

It also got a big boost from the most famous Democrat of all: former president Barack Obama, who said recently "Democrats aren’t just running on good, old ideas like a higher minimum wage, but they’re running on new ideas like Medicare for all."

The idea — that the state provides health care coverage to all people, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay — is also very costly. One study estimates it would have a price tag of $32 trillion over 10 years. Are we ready for such a radical shift in how healthcare works, and who pays for it?

This week on Money Talking, Charlie Herman dives into the issue with Yahoo Finance columnist Rick Newman.

This election season, more Democrats are backing a single-payer health care bill. But how realistic is the plan?