Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky said the U.S. “spends way more on health care than any other country in the world” but receives very little return on the investment, in a Wednesday interview.
“We spend more, way more on health care than any other country in the world, and we actually have worse outcomes. Why? Because so many people are not insured,” the Illinois Democrat told CNN’s “Newsroom.”
Schakowsky discussed instituting a public option for government run health care, after Republican efforts in the Senate to repeal and replace ObamaCare failed.
Co-host John Berman cited Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposed plan for a public option that would cost between one and two trillion dollars, adding it had no traction in the Senate. Berman’s co-host Poppy Harlow also interjected pointing out the flaws in a single payer proposal.
“Even Democrats in California had to concede they didn’t figure out the cost side of this,” said Harlow. “Isn’t there a reason that this hasn’t worked where it has been tried in America?”
Schakowsky argued against those criticisms believing America won’t know if single payer works until it’s tried on the federal level. She added eliminating competition through a public option would be a “fairly elegant” way of fixing Obamacare.
“We ought to at least consider a public option,” she said.
Republicans and Democrats are set to hold a bipartisan hearing on health care reform aimed at stabilizing insurance markets in the midst of the heavy uncertainty.
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