Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is preparing a "single-payer" healthcare proposal, a continuation of his "Medicare for All" promise, once the debate to replace and replace Obamacare has ended in the Senate.
"Absolutely, of course we are, we're tweaking the final points of the bill, and we're figuring out how we can mount a national campaign to bring people together," Sanders told host Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
"We are the only major county on earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people. . . . What we should do is move in the direction of every other major country, guarantee healthcare as a right, not a privilege."
In tweaking Obamacare, Sen. Sanders said there should be a "public option" for health insurance.
"If people don't like the private insurance that they're getting, they should have a Medicare-type public option available in every state in this country," Sanders told Tapper.
". . . What we have is a dysfunctional, complicated healthcare system."
Sanders did acknowledge the criticism of blue states like California and Sanders' Vermont in failing to enact their single-payer proposals, mostly due to the projected costs of the government-funded programs.
"Politically this is difficult," he admitted.
"Taking on the insurance companies . . . is not going to be easy."
Sen. Sanders concluded with a call for Congress to give Americans the same coverage lawmakers have.