ROSENDALE CALLS OUT TESTER'S SUPPORT FOR RADICAL SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE
HELENA, Mont. - Matt Rosendale called out Jon Tester today for suggesting Congress should take a "solid look" at radical single-payer health insurance proposals.
"Tester's deciding vote for Obamacare started the government takeover of health care, but now he doesn't think it's happening fast enough," Rosendale said. "As Montana’s insurance commissioner, I'm appalled that Tester would suggest such a radical plan that would blow up our nation's budget and put Montanans' health in the hands of the federal government."
"Sen Jon. Tester (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said Congress should perhaps take a "solid look" at a single-payer health care system.” (The Hill, 9/6/17)
VIDEO of Tester's comments
This isn't the first time Tester has voiced support for single-payer. In 2006, he "said he would endorse a single-payer system." (Montana Standard, 4/30/06)
Background on the cost of single-payer health care:
"But the government's price tag would be astonishing. When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a "Medicare for all" health plan in his presidential campaign, the nonpartisan Urban Institute figured that it would raise government spending by $32 trillion over 10 years, requiring a tax increase so huge that even the democratic socialist Mr. Sanders did not propose anything close to it." (Washington Post, 6/18/17)
In 2011, Montana Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer proposed a single payer plan and expected it to cost Montana $8 billion. (Washington Post, 10/3/11)
An Analysis From The Tax Policy Center Estimated Bernie Sanders' Single-Payer Health Care Proposal Would Increase Federal Spending By $32 Trillion Over A Decade. (Gordon Mermin, Len Burman, and Frank Sammartino, "An Analysis Of Senator Bernie Sanders's Tax And Transfer Proposals," Tax Policy Center, 5/9/16)
To Pay For This Plan, Senator Sanders' Plan Proposes A 6.2 Percent Increase On The Payroll Tax That Would "Ultimately Be Shifted Back Onto Employees" Thus Lowering Their Wages." "Their employers, however, would pay a payroll tax of 6.2 percent on their earnings. This would ultimately be shifted back onto employees-including low-income employees-in the form of lower wages." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan," The Urban Institute, 5/16)
The Plan Would Increase Taxes On Income Affecting Low-Income Individuals, Among Others. "The 2.2 percent income surtax on taxable income would also affect many low-income people, but upper-middle-income and high-income individuals would bear most of the brunt of financing this plan through large tax increases." (John Holahan, "The Sanders Single-Payer HealthCare Plan," The Urban Institute, 5/16)
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