Bill Halter Quotes

I suspect I'm the only politician in America who won an election in this last cycle with TV ads saying I was going to try to pass the first single-payer system in America.

If Medicare today includes Medicare supplemental, why wouldn't Medicare for all include a Medicare supplement for all who want it?

I would love to see public option. If we had public option, then people would have that ability to supplement that public option with an additional health plan.

I have worked to expand the health care debate beyond the current for-profit system, to include a public option and an amendment to free the states to pursue single payer.

I would prefer a public option that would be a competitive option that would allow people to buy into a Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, which is a series of private plans.

Progressive activists are angry that a Medicare-for-all single-payer approach was totally ignored during the health care debate.

Is Medicare socialism? You want to get rid of Medicare. And a lot of the people against health care do. I want to preserve it and grow it.

... socialized medicine by the back door.

I support offering the public option to members of Congress, and as soon as I'm given the chance, I intend to go on it.

All Democrats from Bernie to Biden will eliminate private insurance either outright or as a consequence of the public option crowding out private insurance.

For a public option, I voted for that when I was in Congress, and the Senate couldn't stand up to the health insurance industry and took it out.

I would not outlaw or eliminate private health insurance. But if we do a good enough job, with a robust public option, there really should not be as much of a need for private insurance in the market.

I am a Medicare-for-all public option proponent.

I leave Medicare alone. I create a new system for everyone under 65 where they get health care as a right. It's a basic plan. We roll Medicaid into that, but then we allow people to have choices and get private insurance to supplement that basic government plan.

I don't want to fix Obamacare, I want to get rid of it.

America doesn't have health insurance.

I have been absolutely clear where I'm coming from about health care reform. This is something this nation has to do and a robust public option has been the mantra of my campaign from the very outset.

Obamacare is a perfect tool to crush free enterprise and force all Americans into a socialist health care system.

You cannot drive a system that's going to be aiming at preventing illness if everyone is not in it. The whole gaming of health insurance and health care in America is based on that fundamental principle: insure people who aren't sick and you don't have to pay more money on them.

It is critical that we pass legislation to dramatically reform our health insurance system, and this reform should include a genuine public option, universal coverage, an end to insurance policy rescissions, and no restrictions against covering people with pre-existing conditions.

I fully support a national health care program for the U.S.

Democrats believe we must have comprehensive health care reform that includes giving the federal government authority to negotiate lower prices with drug companies.

We're the party that has fought for Medicare. We're the party that has fought for Social Security. The Republicans have tried to privatize Social Security and voucherize Medicare.

Health care should be a right; it should never be a privilege. We should have Medicare for all in this country.

In my opinion, real reform, which lowers costs and ensures all Americans get the quality, affordable health care that they deserve, cannot be accomplished without a robust public option.