They continue:
According to CBO and JCT’s estimates, a monthly average of about 244 million noninstitutionalized civilians under age 65 will have health insurance in 2017. Almost two-thirds of them will have coverage through an employer, and about a quarter will be enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). A smaller number will have nongroup coverage, coverage that is provided by Medicare, or coverage obtained from various other sources. On average, about 28 million people—10 percent of all noninstitutionalized civilians younger than 65—will be uninsured in 2017, CBO and JCT estimate (see Figure 1). Between 2017 and 2018, the number of uninsured people rises by 2 million in the agencies’ projections, mainly because premiums in the nongroup market are expected to be higher. From 2018 through 2027, the number of people with coverage is expected to grow from 242 million to 247 million. But the number of uninsured people is also expected to grow, from 30 million to 31 million, keeping the uninsured share of the under-65 population stable at 11 percent.
Now under Medicare we have an annual cost of $10,000 per person. Thus Medicare for all at 330 million people is $3.3 trillion a year! Yep, a large number.
At least when Thomas Paine made his suggestions in the 1790s, he had the courage to estimate the costs as well as the source of payment. Where are Thomas Paines when we need them?
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