Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) became on Friday the 115th sponsor for Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA) Medicare for All, meaning that nearly half of the House Democrat caucus backs the single-payer healthcare legislation.
Rep. Jayapal thanked Carbajal for cosponsoring her Medicare for All legislation, making the California Democrat the 115th congressman to back single-payer health care. Since Democrats have 235 members in the House, this would mean that nearly half of Democrats support Medicare for All.
Carbajal’s backing of Medicare for All arises as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) admitted Thursday night during the Democrat presidential debate that the middle class will have to pay more in taxes to pay for Medicare for All and free state college tuition.
Despite the bill’s popularity in the House Democrat caucus, Medicare for All could have staggering implications for America’s large health insurance industry.
Rep. Jayapal admitted in May that roughly one million health insurance workers could get “displaced” under her Medicare for All legislation.
“There a lot of people who work in the private insurance industry, we have thought very carefully about how we take care of those folks, because we think they are very important. And so, there’s about a million people that we think will get displaced if Medicare for All happens.”
Medicare for All’s impact on the private insurance market has served as a difficult issue for 2020 Democrat presidential candidates.
On Friday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) flip-flopped again on whether her Medicare for All plan would eliminate private health insurance. Harris raised her hand during the debate Thursday night, suggesting that she would back a move to eliminate private health insurance in favor of Medicare for All.
Harris cautioned that, under her Medicare for All plan, health insurance would technically still exist as supplemental coverage.
“That’s certainly what I heard. I’m in support of Medicare for all. And under Medicare for all, private care would exist as supplemental coverage,” Harris claimed.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.