Bernie Sanders Advocates for Medicare for All with New Research Support

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who collaborates with Democrats, is intensifying his advocacy for Medicare for All. Sanders, a prominent member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, highlighted new research in a statement on Tuesday. Researchers from Yale University released a study showing that Sanders’ Medicare for All proposal could annually save 114,000 lives and reduce national healthcare spending by more than $1 trillion.

This study confirms what we have known for years: Medicare for All saves lives and saves money, Sanders stated. It would cost $1 trillion less than our current dysfunctional system.

The campaign for Medicare for All is gaining strength within the Democratic Party, propelled by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned and progressive candidates. Newsweek sought comments from Sanders’ office on Tuesday.

DSA and Progressive Candidates Boost Medicare for All

Recent Democratic primary victories have revived Sanders and the progressive movement’s support for Medicare for All, a healthcare proposal he has championed for nearly ten years. The DSA lists Medicare for All as a key component of its platform.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani supported progressive congressional candidates who succeeded in June primaries. In Colorado, Melat Kiros ousted long-standing incumbent Representative Diana DeGette. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, supported by Sanders and Mamdani, defeated Representative Haley Stevens in a Senate primary, focusing on Medicare for All. In Maine’s Senate race, progressive Troy Jackson centered his campaign on Medicare for All against Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Sanders has persistently pushed Medicare for All in the Senate, introducing it in 2017 with 16 Democratic co-sponsors. It faced a setback as a single-payer amendment was rejected 0-57, with 42 Democrats and Sanders voting present. He reintroduced the bill in 2019 with 14 co-sponsors, yet it lacked majority support. Versions in 2022 and April 2025, such as S. 1506, also stalled. Becker’s Payer Issues reported that Sanders’ proposals remain stuck in committee each Congress since introduction. Centrist Democrats have pursued narrower measures like the CHOICE Act.

Insights from the New Yale Study

The Yale analysis, led by epidemiologist Alison Galvani, indicated Medicare for All would reduce U.S. healthcare spending by nearly 20%, according to Sanders. Savings stem from spending less on prescription drugs than other wealthy countries, cutting administrative waste, and reducing fraudulent billing.

The study estimated the plan would prevent 114,000 deaths annually, including 33,000 among the uninsured and over 20,000 related to Republican-backed legislation. A previous study in The Lancet noted the plan could save 68,000 lives and $450 billion annually.

Not all studies agree. A 2018 analysis by Charles Blahous at the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank, suggested the plan would raise federal spending by $32.6 trillion over ten years. Sanders’ office dismissed the study as grossly misleading and biased. Despite differences, even under generous assumptions, Blahous found national health spending might decrease by $2 trillion over a decade, though it involved substantial federal spending increases. Sanders cited this as evidence of savings, while Blahous deemed the cost assumptions unrealistic.

Polls Reflect on Medicare for All

Despite often being labeled a radical socialist approach, Medicare for All garners majority support in polling, though responses vary based on question phrasing. Gallup reported 64% of U.S. adults in November 2025 felt the federal government should guarantee healthcare, the highest since 2007. Pew Research Center found a parallel trend, with 66% support in 2025, increasing from 62% in 2021.

A November 2025 survey from Data for Progress revealed 65% of likely voters favored a Medicare for All system replacing most private insurance, including 78% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 49% of Republicans, even with warnings about tax increases and government control.

However, poll wording impacts outcomes. A July 2026 survey by Tavern Research for the Searchlight Institute reported weaker support for plans eliminating private insurance entirely. The survey found most respondents preferred keeping their current plans.

Polling reveals growing interest in government healthcare involvement and majority backing for Medicare for All in many iterations. However, support diminishes when private insurance elimination is specified, the Sanders-backed model.

Sanders continues to argue for comparability with international systems. If every major country on earth can guarantee healthcare to all, and achieve better health outcomes, while spending less per capita than we do, it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the United States cannot do the same, he stated.