Three more questions nobody asks Bernie Sanders about M4A

This video shows some young people's opinions about Medicare for All. When they first hear about it from the likes of Bernie Sanders -- political sound bites and propaganda -- their response is favorable. "Great. Free stuff." After they learn a little more about it -- what it would cost them, how some people would lose their jobs, and how it would eliminate health insurance that about half the population now has through and largely paid for by their employers -- they are shocked and many no longer favor it.

I am not surprised by how little young people know about health insurance. It's way down the list of their concerns and they don't question the pied pipers of Medicare for All. Health insurance is largely a concern of older people. Here I asked some questions that nobody asks Bernie Sanders about M4A that affect mostly people who have health insurance via employers.

I searched for the terms {Bernie Sanders eliminate private insurance advantage supplement} using Google and DuckDuckGo. Sanders proposes to "eliminate private insurance" but I am not aware that he has specifically proposed eliminating Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplement (Medigap) policies, and Medicare Part D prescription drug policies. His own press release in April doesn't mention them. The links on the page don't either. All are products of private insurers. Looking at a few of the results from my search, I saw none that mentioned eliminating these three kinds of coverage. Sanders' primary target is employer-based health insurance coverage, at least private sector employers (link). His wanting "no copays or deductibles" at least suggests eliminating Medicare supplement (Medigap) policies.

Thus the three additional questions are: Do you propose to eliminate Medicare Advantage? Do you propose to eliminate Medicare supplement (Medigap) policies? Do you propose to eliminate Medicare Part D prescription drug policies?

Replacing them with Medicare would either eliminate what they cover beyond current Medicare or require a large expansion of Medicare benefits. Most likely Bernie proposes the latter. He surely does when he talks about no copays or deductibles and small maximum costs to patients for prescription drugs.

Medicare Advantage is a substitute for original Medicare. The federal government, more specifically the Center for Medicare Services, heavily controls Medicare Advantage. The policies must cover at least what original Medicare does. The insurers receive most of their funding from Medicare. How much is pretty complicated (link). The national average was about $10,000 per person enrolled in 2018. Those enrolled -- about 20.4 million people now -- also pay copays, deductibles, and some pay premiums (link). Medicare also subsidizes Part D prescription drug insurers.

A Wall Street Journal article (paywalled) reports that Sanders wants his young supporters to help him win over their parents. If they try, they better not mention health insurance! Sanders wants to eliminate their parents and grandparents private health insurance.

The Atlantic reports: "Bernie Sanders, by contrast, leads all candidates among voters under 30 and polls just 5 percent among voters over 65. In a national Quinnipiac poll asking voters which candidate has the best ideas, Sanders crushes Biden 27 percent to 4 percent among those under 35 and receives an equal and opposite crushing at the hands of Biden among voters over 65: 28 percent to 4 percent."