Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren once again touted her plan for “Medicare For All,” but declined to say how much the program would cost the U.S. taxpayer, instead simply saying that the cost estimates “vary by trillions.”
"I continue to work on parts of it that need more information," the 2020 presidential contender told reporters in New Hampshire. "For me, one of them is about talking about what the cost is. You may know, the cost for ‘Medicare for All’ estimates vary by trillions and trillions of dollars. So I'm going to have a plan to talk about what the cost is and I'm going have a plan to talk about how we can pay for it."
Warren has historically had trouble admitting her proposal to provide everyone in the U.S with “free” health care would ultimately raise taxes, much less by how much.
Sen. Warren defends medicare for all, saying the cost estimates vary by trillions https://t.co/1miygGG9rY pic.twitter.com/AQWhtTrJ88
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 30, 2019
Similarly, Senator and fellow 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders, also a proponent of Medicare For All, told CNBC’s John Harwood this week that he doesn’t have to say how he plans to pay for the multi-trillion-dollar plan.
"You're asking me to come up with an exact detailed plan of how every American — how much you're going to pay more in taxes, how much I'm going to pay. I don't think I have to do that right now," Sanders told CNBC.
While both he and Warren have been vauge about how much their proposals would cost and how they – or rather, the American taxpayer – would foot the bill In June, Sanders admitted back in June of 2018 that “there will be pain” associated with the price tag for Medicare For All. And, while estimates do range, the left-leaning Urban Institute estimated the plan would cost $32 trillion over 10 years.