1.1 Million Watch Sanders’ ‘Medicare for All’ Town Hall (Video)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders held a town hall meeting Tuesday to inform the public about his “Medicare for All” health care proposal after observing that mainstream media has largely ignored the plan.

“It’s a discussion you’re not likely to see on the mainstream news,” Sanders said. “This event will not be interrupted by commercials for the drug companies.”

During the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours and was livestreamed on the web in conjunction with NowThis News, The Young Turks and ATTN:, Sanders and nine guests answered questions about universal health care and provided perspectives on how countries across the globe, such as Canada and Norway, implement single-payer health systems.

While the town hall was not broadcast on any major news outlets, it did receive over a million clicks during the livestream. Watch video footage of the event above and read more about Medicare for All in the following piece from AlterNet:

The bold healthcare proposal by independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders would create a government-run health care plan intended to achieve universal coverage for all Americans.

The Medicare for All Act would move the U.S. to a single payer system, meaning that the U.S. government acts as the sole primary financier of health care for citizens.

Medicare for All would prevent employers from offering any insurance options that competed with the new Medicare program.

Unlike government-run plans in other countries, the Sanders plan intends to cover all needed medical services, including vision and dental, hospital visits, maternity care and other prescription drug benefits.

The plan does not include co-pays and would only charge enrollees for prescription drugs. There are no copays or deductibles.

Critics are asking how Sanders plan to pay for this drastic reimagining of American health care. His last proposal was expected to cost the U.S. almost $1.4 trillion yearly.

The current financing options for this new bill are still undergoing review. These financing options include familiar themes to those who follow the self-described socialist senator, including higher taxes on the wealthy and [reining] in corporate corruption.

Taxes would most likely increase for everyone. But employers could theoretically boost salaries, because they’d no longer be paying for employees’ insurance.

The Sanders plan, which is picking up surprising steam with Democratic lawmakers, is not the public option many Democrats previously supported.

Read more here.