Sanders writes his own op-ed to hit back at Trump piece attacking ‘Medicare for all’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote his own op-ed in USA Today on Thursday to hit back at President Trump for his piece in the newspaper attacking a “Medicare for all” health-care system.

“Given the president’s propensity to lie about almost everything, it is not surprising that Trump is grossly distorting what the Medicare for All legislation does,” Sanders wrote in defense of his signature policy.

{mosads}Trump’s op-ed in USA Today, published Wednesday, argued Democrats would harm seniors on the current Medicare program by expanding it to everyone.

“In practice, the Democratic Party’s so-called Medicare for All would really be Medicare for None,” Trump wrote. “Under the Democrats’ plan, today’s Medicare would be forced to die.”

The newspaper came under fire from liberals who said it should not have given Trump a platform for spreading what they called lies about “Medicare for all.”

Sanders struck back in his own op-ed in the newspaper.

“Our proposal would not cut benefits for seniors on Medicare, as the president and his Republican allies claim,” Sanders writes. “In fact, we expand benefits.”

He points out that under his proposal, seniors would have coverage for dental and vision care that they do not currently have on Medicare.

Sanders said his proposal would also provide coverage for the roughly 30 million people who are still uninsured, and lower costs for the millions more who face high deductibles. Sanders’s plan calls for no deductibles.

Trump and Republicans say Sanders’s plan would be too expensive and require taxes to “skyrocket.”

Sanders said the country in fact cannot afford not to take up his plan.

“We can’t afford to have millions of Americans get sicker than they should, and in some cases die, because they can’t afford to go to the doctor,” Sanders wrote.