On Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 3:33:29 PM UTC-4,
Post by moviePigBernie Sanders has been hospitalized for ("mild") heart
surgery. I'm
wondering which comprises the biggest blow to his
campaign: the surgery
itself, or how so few news outlets seem to think it a
top story...
Sanders presidential campaign pivots health scare to
Medicare for All message
Simon Lewis OCTOBER 2, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-sanders-medicare/sanders-presidential-campaign-pivots-health-scare-to-medicare-for-all-message-idUSKBN1WH2DC
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential
election campaign on Wednesday sought to use news the
candidate had a heart procedure to highlight the
benefits of his trademark Medicare for All healthcare plan.
Sanders’ campaign canceled campaign events and pulled TV
ads after the 78-year-old U.S. senator had two stents
inserted into an artery after he experienced discomfort
during a campaign visit to Nevada on Tuesday.
The candidate would rest for a few days after the
relatively common procedure, his campaign for the
November 2020 presidential election said.
Sanders’ speechwriter, David Sirota, said in a daily
newsletter that the unexpected medical procedure was “a
perfect example of why the United States needs to join
the rest of the world and pass Bernie’s Medicare for All
legislation.”
Sirota cited a 2018 paper by researchers at the London
School of Economics that found cardiac implant devices
cost up to six times more in the United States than in
some European countries with government-run healthcare
systems.
Sanders advocates an approach that would extend the
existing Medicare program for Americans aged over 65 to
all Americans and largely eliminate the private
insurance industry.
Sirota argued the gulf in price was in part due to the
U.S. healthcare system’s “complex web of payers - rather
than a single-payer Medicare for All system that can
negotiate better prices.”
As many as 1 million Americans a year get stents, a
procedure that involves inserting a balloon-tipped
catheter to open blockage and deploy tiny wire-mesh
tubes to prop open the artery.
“I’m feeling good. I’m fortunate to have good health
care and great doctors and nurses helping me to
recover,” Sanders tweeted on Wednesday afternoon, his
first public statement since the procedure.
“None of us know when a medical emergency might affect
us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs.
Medicare for All!”
advantage. This seems a worthy try on such short notice...