Medicare for All & Middle-Class Taxes: Warren's Stance Explained

Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren once again refused to say whether taxes would rise for middle-class families in order to pay for her preferred vision of expanding the Medicare program to cover all Americans.

“Middle-class families are going to pay less,” Warren said during the third Democratic debate, hosted by ABC, in Texas on Thursday. “Costs are going to go up for wealthier individuals and giant corporations.”

Warren only referenced total costs, which is what families have to deal with, she said.

When asked directly about tax obligations, she once again dodged the question.

Warren supports Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan for a Medicare for All program, which he admitted on Thursday could cost more than $30 trillion.

To finance the plan, Sanders has said taxes would rise for the average American family, though he says people would pay less overall thanks to lower health care costs.

He has estimated that taxes could rise by $10,000 for the average family. He added that a family currently paying $20,000 for private insurance – in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses – would see that obligation eliminated. Instead, taxes would increase by $10,000.

Under his Medicare for All proposal, Americans would lose their private insurance.

Sanders unveiled his updated Medicare for All bill in April, which would expand coverage of the government-run program to all Americans, not just those over the age of 65. He pushed a similar proposal in 2017.

Sanders and Warren squared off against a number of others on the debate stage on Thursday – including former Vice President Joe Biden, who does not share their Medicare for All vision.