White House rips Sanders’s ‘horrible’ single-payer plan

The White House on Wednesday slammed the push by Senate Democrats for a single-payer health-care plan at the same time Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced his proposal, calling the plan “horrible.”

“The president as well as the majority of the country know the single-payer system the Democrats are proposing is a horrible idea,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during the daily briefing.

“I can’t think of anything worse than having government be more involved in your health care instead of less involved,” she continued.

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“The president is focused on looking at ways where government gets out of the way, people have more control over their own health care and looking at ways to fully repeal and replace [ObamaCare] will be a priority, but we want to move the system forward and make sure we ware in a place that’s actually sustainable.”

The Trump aide’s comments came as Bernie Sanders and key Democrats held a press conference to unveil his single-payer health-care plan, which he has dubbed “Medicare for all.”

The single-payer idea is gaining traction among the left, especially among more liberal Democrats and those eying potential 2020 presidential bids. But it’s also prompting a steady stream of rebukes from Republicans who are using it as a wedge between Democrats and moderate voters.

When a reporter reminded the White House spokeswoman that Trump had called for “insurance for everybody” in an interview with The Washington Post right before his inauguration, Sarah Huckabee Sanders argued that the American people rejected single-payer during the presidential race.

“I’m pretty sure that not only does the president not support it, America does not support it, or Bernie Sanders would be sitting in the Oval Office right now,” she said.

“He pushed these ideas forward during the campaign and they were rejected, not just by America but by Democrats. He didn’t make it through the primary, he didn’t make it into the Oval. I think that’s a pretty clear indication of what Americans want to see and it’s not single-payer.”