Sen. Chris Murphy said Wednesday he's favored a single-payer healthcare system for years, and he'll be taking a careful look at a proposal Sen. Bernie Sanders is presenting.
"I always said if I were to design the American healthcare system from scratch, I would want a single-payer system," the Connecticut Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "I think we are having an important conversation how we get there."
Sanders, I-Vermont, is introducing a bill on Wednesday that would extend the Medicare health insurance program currently used by the elderly to all Americans.
His plan is backed by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, as it would make healthcare less expensive and less complicated for most people and would cover some 28 million people who remain uninsured, despite Obamacare.
Meanwhile, Murphy said he's introduced his own version of a healthcare reform plan, which would allow all Americans to buy into Medicare, and allow consumers to decide if they want private insurance or Medicare. He said he believes most consumers would want the government program, and then allow for a transition into a single-payer system.
"Democrats can talk about what we want the American healthcare system to look like ten years from now, but not distract that the Republicans are trying to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I argue that 95 percent of our attention still needs to be on stopping that effort," the senator said.
Murphy said he believes Democrats are working under the same premise, of a single-payer system, but he hopes they'll look at all the proposals that are out there.
Meanwhile, following President Donald Trump's deal last week with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to extend the nation's debt ceiling for three months, Murphy said he does believe members of his party should be open to talking to Trump to keep the government operating.
"If not the president, Republicans," Murphy said. "We should be open to that conversation. The fact of the matter is the governing mantle in the United States Congress still remains the mantle of the Democratic caucus and the minorities of the Republican caucus so in order to get anything done here, you have to bring the two parties together."