WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s Medicare chief slammed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for a national health plan, saying “Medicare for All” would undermine care for seniors and become “Medicare for None.”
The broadside from Medicare and Medicaid administrator Seema Verma came in a San Francisco speech Aug. 25 that coincided with a focus on health care in contentious midterm congressional elections.
Sanders, a Vermont independent, fired back at Trump’s Medicare chief in a statement that chastised her for trying to “throw” millions of people off their health insurance during the administration’s failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Verma’s made her comments toward the end of a lengthy speech before the Commonwealth Club of California, during which she delved into arcane details of Medicare payment policies.
Denouncing what she called the “drumbeat” for “government-run socialized health care,” Verma said “Medicare for All” would “only serve to hurt and divert focus from seniors.”
“You are giving the government complete control over decisions pertaining to your care, or whether you receive care at all,” she added.
“In essence, Medicare for All would become Medicare for None,” she said. Verma also said she disapproved of efforts in California to set up a state-run health care system, which would require her agency’s blessing.
In his response, Sanders said that “Medicare is, by far, the most cost-effective, efficient and popular health care program in America.
