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Bernie Sanders Wants To Use Democrats’ Midterm Victory To Expand Medicare. Has He Looked at Europe?
Bernie Sanders says Democrats should use their midterm victory to expand Medicare, beginning by lowering eligibility to age 55 and covering dental, vision and hearing care, as well as children up to 19. He argues that healthcare is a human right and calls for Medicare for All; the article counters that European public systems show how broad coverage can come with long waits, unmet needs and pressure on public finances.
The article cites England’s 7.4 million-person hospital waiting list in August and says the 18-week treatment target has not been met for more than a decade. It reports that almost 40 per cent of emergency patients wait over four hours, and that 79,130 people were removed from the waiting list between September 2024 and August 2025 after dying before treatment. It also compares specialist waits: 42 per cent of Americans waited at least a month in 2023, against 62 per cent in Britain and 65 per cent in France; the article acknowledges that the US system is dysfunctional and expensive.
In short
- Sanders wants to lower Medicare eligibility to 55.
- The article points to long waits in Britain and France.
- It argues expanded public healthcare could strain budgets.
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The case for
Expanding Medicare could make essential care more affordable and accessible, including for people aged 55 to 64 and children, while adding dental, vision and hearing services. Supporters see healthcare as a human right and argue that broad public coverage can protect families from high costs and reduce reliance on a costly, dysfunctional system.
The case against
Critics argue that expanding public coverage without enough staff, capacity and funding could worsen waits and leave patients unable to get timely treatment. They point to the reported pressures in England and specialist-care delays in Britain and France as reasons to question whether broader entitlement alone will deliver better access, especially if it adds strain to public finances.
Explained simply
Medicare is a US government health insurance programme, mainly for people aged 65 and over and some younger people with disabilities. Bernie Sanders is a US senator who has long argued for a system covering everyone, paid for largely through public funds; his Medicare for All proposal would greatly widen the programme.
The debate is about how to balance access to care, cost and waiting times. European countries organise healthcare in different ways, but many use public funding to provide broad coverage, while facing pressures such as delays for some treatments. Comparisons with the US can help explain the choices involved, though the countries’ systems and circumstances differ.
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