- 01/17/2016 by L. Perry (WBAI News)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders released a Medicare-for-all plan in advance of the Democratic Presidential debate Sunday evening.

“Universal health care is an idea that has been supported in the United States by Democratic presidents going back to Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman,” Sanders said. “It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege."

Sanders’ proposal would build on the success of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. It would expand Medicare, the successful health care program for seniors.

The plan would be paid for by a variety of tax increases which includes an estate tax on wealthiest Americans, as well as changes in the tax code to make federal income tax rates more progressive.