Former presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders advocated for universal healthcare while reacting to UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's assassination during an NBC News interview on Monday.
When asked whether this is the right time to talk about health care policy, in response to Elizabeth Warren condemning violence while recognizing people can only be pushed so far before they take matters into their own hands, Sanders made a case for universal healthcare.
"What I think has happened in the last few months is that what you have seen rising up is people's anger at a health insurance industry which denies people the healthcare that they desperately need while they make billions and billions of dollars in profit," Sanders said in the widely shared X clip.
The Virginia senator criticized Thompson's murder, calling it "outrageous" and "unacceptable, adding that "nobody should applaud it," while enumerating which questions Americans should be asking themselves.
"What we need to ask ourselves when we talk about healthcare is why we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people, why we have a life expectancy which is significantly lower than in other countries, why working class people die five to 10 years shorter than the people on top," Sanders asserted.
Bernie Sanders Defends Elizabeth Warren Over CEO Murder Gaffe: 'Understands' Killing Was 'Totally Unacceptable — But…' https://t.co/510gB3gGwJ via @mediaite pic.twitter.com/riJdZy5sUS
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) December 16, 2024
Sanders added that the US is "long overdue" for universal healthcare, especially since the people spend twice as much per capita on healthcare than people in any other nation.
"The goal of healthcare is not to make drug companies and insurance companies phenomenally rich. It's the guaranteed quality care to all of our people," Sanders declared.
The veteran politician has been a devoted advocate for universal healthcare throughout his career. Most recently, alongside Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell, Sanders introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2023, which would provide healthcare services for all US residents.
Originally published on Latin Times
