Ocasio-Cortez: the proposal "Medicare for all" "not just a pie in the sky"

Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) said Sunday that the "Medicare for all" proposal that she and other progressives had defended would eventually save the Americans money, although studies have shown that this idea would cost up to 40 trillion dollars.

"Medicare for all would allow Americans to save a very large sum of money.What we also see is that these systems are not just scratches", said Ocasio-Cortez on "The State of the Union". Canada, France, the United Kingdom and other democracies have a similar form of health care.

"What we need to realize is that these investments are better and better for our future, they are generational investments," she added.

"Medicare for all would spare the American people a very large sum of money … they are generational investments," says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a candidate for the New York Congress. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/TbNRlgSOJs

– CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 16, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-identified Democratic Socialist, was upset in June when she defeated Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) In a primary and is expected to win the House elections in November. She made Medicare the cornerstone of her campaign in Congress.

CNN's Jake Tapper pointed out that some studies on the left have shown that the cost of Medicare for all would total nearly $ 40 trillion. The Ocasio-Cortez plan to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations to pay for this idea would only cover about $ 2 trillion, Tapper noted.

Ocasio-Cortez did not provide details on where the $ 38 trillion of funding came from, but acknowledged that there were political realities that the concept faces.

Medicare for all has been re-examined because a study last month found that the legislation introduced by the Sen. Bernie SandersBernard (Bernie) SandersDems Calls Senate to Reject Kavanaugh's Vote (I-Vt.) Creating a national health insurance system would result in an increase of $ 32.6 trillion in federal spending over a 10-year period.

Additional studies have shown that establishing Medicare for all would result in similar costs.

Ocasio-Cortez downplayed comments by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) Sunday that his victory over Crowley was a "stroke of luck". She said she was planning to rally her supporters in November to support all Democrats, including Cuomo.