John Oliver Makes the Definitive Case for Medicare-for-All

Less than a week ahead of the Nevada caucus, Medicare-for-all has emerged as perhaps the defining issue of the Democratic primary, with Pete Buttigieg’s campaign attacking the proposal outright and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders responding in kind. Enter “Last Week Tonight’s” John Oliver, whose latest deep dive examines the country’s dystopian health care system and explains how the elimination of private insurance could benefit millions of Americans.

“Right now, a lot of our health care spending doesn’t go to health care,” he says. “It goes to administrative costs that come with having a vast insurance industry that is clearly wildly inefficient, and consolidating all health insurance under one roof would give the government far more leverage to negotiate prices down. Because look, it is no secret that prices for procedures and drugs are out of control in the United States.”

While the HBO host seemingly has no horse in this year’s race, he’s not unwilling to sound off on Buttigieg’s less-ambitious plan, which he describes as a “shit sandwich with [guacamole].”

Watch the segment in its entirety above.