Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday released a new plan on how she would pay for her Medicare for All proposal that would not raise taxes on the middle class, responding to pressure from other Democrats in the presidential race.
The plan is a shift from Warren’s progressive rival in the Democratic race for the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has said tax hikes on the middle class will be necessary to help pay for Medicare for All.
Warren and Sanders have both argued that Medicare for All will lead to lower healthcare spending overall.
Warren said that her Medicare for All plan would allow every American to have full heath and long-term care coverage. She said her plan would cost an additional $20.5 trillion in new federal spending, a lower estimate than the $34 trillion in new spending the Urban Institute had said would be needed,. .
To pay for the plan, Warren wrote in a post on Medium that she would redirect some funds from states to help fund Medicare.
“After incorporating the $6 trillion we will redirect from states to help fund Medicare, the experts conclude that total new federal spending required to enact Medicare for All will be $20.5 trillion,” she wrote.
The proposal comes as Warren as polls show her in the driver’s seat ahead of the Iowa caucuses, and as opponents have clamored for her to explain how she would pay for the proposal.
