Politics

Bernie Sanders Tells Union Worker: I’d ‘Absolutely’ Take Away Your Health Care Plan

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Justin Caruso Contributor
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Independent Vermont Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders told a worker in Iowa that he would “absolutely” take away his union’s right to bargain for health care plans Monday.

“Okay. All right, Somebody tell me why I’m crazy,” the Vermont politician said while interacting with a crowd in Iowa.

Sanders: “I want to be frank I don’t want to…oh I guess the guy could tell me why I’m crazy. All right, there’s a Cubs fan…”

Audience member: “Wouldn’t the Medicare health care plan … wouldn’t that take away our right to bargain for our — our medical benefits?”

Sanders: “Yeah, absolutely it would. It’s not a bad thing.”

Sanders is currently running for the Democratic nomination and has built his campaign around democratic socialist proposals on health care and the environment.

The senator, himself a millionaire, has also proposed that illegal immigrants be included in his “Medicare For All” plan.

“When I talk about health care being a human right, last time I heard that undocumented people are human beings as well,” he said in June. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Says ‘Health Care For All’ Will Require Tax Increases)

Medicare For All has become the key issue in the Democratic primary. California Sen. Kamala Harris initially supported a Sanders-style universal health care program, but recently backtracked, telling a group of wealthy donors that she has “not been comfortable” with Bernie Sanders’ health care plan.

However, there is one area that almost all Democrats agree on: the importance of giving government health care plans to illegal immigrants.

At a debate in June, all 10 Democrats on stage raised their hands when asked whether illegal immigrants would be included in their plans.

Sanders has long held onto second place in the race for the nomination, leading all the candidates except for former Vice President Joe Biden, but he was recently eclipsed by Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in the RealClearPolitics average for 2020 Democratic candidates.