AL GORE: "I believe we ought to have single-payer health care"

7/18/2017
NEW YORK ― Al Gore called for single-payer health care on Tuesday, one day after a revolt by GOP senators dashed Republican hopes of passing a bill to repeal Obamacare.

Speaking at an event to promote his new climate change documentary, the former vice president said health insurance companies have failed to offer cost-effective coverage, even under the Affordable Care Act. A government-run, single-payer system would provide taxpayer-funded basic health care coverage for everyone.

“The private sector has not shown any ability to provide good, affordable health care for all,” Gore told a packed auditorium at Borough of Manhattan Community College. “I believe we ought to have single-payer health care.”

The statement makes the 2000 presidential nominee one of the first high-profile Democrats to advocate the so-called Medicare-for-all option since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) failed yet again this week to rally at least 50 of 52 Republican senators to pass a bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. Lacking the votes to flat-out repeal the law without a replacement, President Donald Trump vowed to stand by and allow Obamacare to collapse without the support needed from his agencies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-gore-single-payer_us_596eb69ae4b00db3d0f3ec88