Medicare-for-all means taxes-for-all

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Democracy Dies in Darkness

Billionaires don't have enough money to foot the bill.

July 19, 2026 at 7:15 a.m. EDTToday at 7:15 a.m. EDT

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) walks to an event to promote his Medicare-for-all proposal in 2023. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Roughly three-quarters of Medicare-for-all supporters believe that it could be paid for entirely by taxing billionaires. They’re wrong.

A recent poll by Echelon Insights found that 74 percent of voters who support the idea championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and other progressive lawmakers think raising taxes only on billionaires would cover all of Medicare’s costs.


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