Healthcare CEO: Medicare for All Would 'Collapse' the System

Scott Flanders, the CEO of eHealth, said recently that Medicare for All would “collapse” Medicare and the overall healthcare system.

Flanders said recently that funding Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security remains a daunting challenge for the American government, which is “all the more reason” why Medicare for All is “nearly irrational” to discuss.

“You’re already saying that it’s a challenge to fund what we’ve already committed to our seniors,” Flanders said. “So, to layer on another 180 million people outside of the employer market into Medicare would just collapse the system.”

The healthcare executive said that Medicare for All, including Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) proposal, would eliminate all private health insurance. Flanders said, “So, 180 million employer-insured individuals and families would lose the insurance they have now.”

“We think it’s highly unlikely that that’s a realistic prospect, but there will still always be a private insurance market for the treatments that aren’t covered by a government plan,” the healthcare executive said.

However, Flanders did add that Medicare has worked to deliver healthcare to older Americans at a fairly low price.

“Medicare is the one aspect of the health care system that has higher customer satisfaction,” Flanders said. “The hospitals, the doctors have all learned to live with Medicare. And so, it’s part of the system that works — that’s why it’s become a popular Democratic platform to say ‘Medicare for all,’ because Medicare is an aspect of the system that’s generally delivering on strong patient outcomes at a reasonable cost.”

Although given the cost of Medicare for All, Flanders cautioned that “these are commitments that we’ve made to seniors. Seniors have paid into Medicare their entire lives. It’s just not right to think about curtailing those benefits.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) told Breitbart News last year that Medicare for All would collapse America’s entitlement program for older Americans.

“My point is Medicare for All is Medicare for none,” Cassidy told Breitbart News. “Medicare is actually going bankrupt in eight years, and now Bernie Sanders wants to put 150 million more people into a system going bankrupt in eight years?”