With Premiums Set to Rise, Progressives Issue Reminder: 'Medicare for All Would Save $650 Billion' Annually
3 minute readPublished: Friday, September 12, 2025 at 8:23 pm
Health insurance premiums are set to skyrocket in the coming months, which has prompted many progressive advocates to remind Americans that a less expensive alternative is possible.As The Washington Post reported on Friday, the cost of health insurance is "on track for their biggest jump in at least five years" thanks in part to the actions of congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump.Citing new research from KFF, the Post noted that most people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act are set to see their premiums rise by over 75% unless Congress steps in and renews enhanced subsidies that had been passed into law under the American Rescue Plan in 2021.Congressional Democrats have said that they will not vote to fund the government past its current rapidly approaching deadline unless Republicans in Congress agree to an extension of the enhanced health insurance tax credits.The Post report also pointed to Trump's trade war threats as a justification being cited by insurers to raise rates. Even though Trump has yet to actually levy tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, his Commerce Department is currently investigating their impact and the president himself has said that the tariffs could be as much as 250%."Some insurers, in legal filings with regulators, have said explicitly that the expected tariffs were raising insurance prices," the paper explained. "A document from United Healthcare of New York states that, to account for 'uncertainty regarding tariffs and/or the onshoring of manufacturing and their impact on total medical costs, most notably on pharmaceuticals, a total price impact of 3.6% is built into the initially submitted rate filing.'"Given all this, longtime supporters of Medicare for All encouraged their fellow Americans to consider a different way of handling healthcare."Next year, Americans will see the biggest jump in health insurance costs in 15 years," commented former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich. "Meanwhile, the six largest health insurers raked in more than $31 billion in net income last year. Still not sure if we need Medicare for All?"Warren Gunnels, a staffer for US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), cited studies by the Congressional Budget Office and Yale to argue that Medicare for All would be a net money saved."Your daily reminder: Medicare for All would save $650 billion and 68,000 lives each and every year while providing comprehensive healthcare to every man, woman, and child with no premiums, no deductibles, and no co-payments," he wrote.Melanie D'Arrigo, the executive director of Campaign for New York Health, argued that the best part of Medicare for All is that it would simply make the private insurance industry obsolte."Your periodic reminder that health insurance is not healthcare," she said. "It's an unnecessary middleman designed to restrict access to healthcare and exploit people for profit. The fiscal and moral path forward is universal healthcare with Medicare for All."Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) reacted to the news of insurance price hikes with a simple message."Medicare for All. Now," he wrote.