Universal Healthcare
Single-payer Medicare for All — comprehensive coverage, zero cost-sharing, public administration.
Why this matters.
The United States spent $4.5 trillion on healthcare in 2022 (17.3% of GDP) while leaving approximately 26 million people uninsured. A 2020 Lancet study estimated that a single-payer system would save roughly $450 billion annually and prevent more than 68,000 deaths per year. Administrative overhead in U.S. private insurance averages 12–18%; traditional Medicare operates at roughly 2%.
Non-partisan in application.
Implemented as a phased expansion of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq.) administered by CMS. Provider reimbursement, quality standards, and appeals already operate under uniform federal regulation — this expands eligibility, it does not invent new bureaucracy.
Measurable outcomes. Hard deadlines.
Single-payer implementation eliminates an estimated $450 billion in annual administrative waste and $200 billion in prescription-drug price inflation. Covering the remaining 26 million uninsured prevents 68,000 avoidable deaths per year. The Tracker monitors votes on Medicare-for-All bills, public-option alternatives, and pharmaceutical price-negotiation measures. Each vote is scored against the zero-cost-sharing standard.
The Accountability Tracker records every vote on Medicare-for-All, public-option, and drug-price-negotiation legislation. It also tallies sign-on letters supporting CMS expansion and opposition to privatization of Medicare (e.g., Medicare Advantage overpayment cuts). PAC support requires co-sponsorship of single-payer or a clear public-option glide path with zero cost-sharing.
Introduce Medicare for All with a 4-year phase-in: ages 0–18 and 55+ in year one, expanding annually.
House passage; secure Senate HELP Committee hearings and CBO score.
Enactment; CMS absorbs private Medicaid managed-care plans; drug-pricing negotiation authority under Medicare.
Universal eligibility achieved; zero cost-sharing in effect; administrative overhead reduced below 5%.