By David Orentlicher
Should the United States achieve universal access to health care by adopting a single-payer, Medicare-for-All kind of system? Or should we build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and not disrupt the health care coverage of the 160 million Americans who have private health insurance?
Both reforms rely on important arguments about affordability, feasibility, and consumer choice. But there is one key reason to favor a single-payer system over an expansion of our current system. Experience with public benefit programs in the United States tells us that such programs thrive only when they serve all Americans.
