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Two years ago, Bernie Sanders introduced a "Medicare for All" bill that would allow the United States to become a single payer health care system. He did not have a single co-sponsor. On Wednesday, the Vermont Independent will present its latest version of the bill.
Time

WASHINGTON – The head of Medicare and Medicaid was criticized online Wednesday after criticizing Halloween on Medicare for all on Twitter.

Seema Verma, administrator of the Medicare Centers and Medicaid Services, has published a photo of a man wearing a black t-shirt bearing the inscription "Medicare for All" on Wednesday afternoon with the commentary "The Suit this year's scariest Halloween goes to … "

Those online quickly reviewed the post and allege that Verma was not fit to serve in her role.

"I imagine that the families of the thousands of Americans who die every year because they have no health insurance would not find your funny Halloween joke," he said. writes the Twitter user, Alex Kotch.

Verma, in a statement to USA TODAY, said the message was a way to get attention and said the critics were not wrong, changing the US health care system is not a joke.

"Have I caught your eye? Well, people are right. Medicare for All is no joke. It's a multi-trillion dollar drain on the US economy that will put future generations bankruptcy, "she said. "It's government-controlled health care that will take away the choice from millions of people – it's a bad idea – and it's scary."

Medicare for all and divergent views on health care have become a central topic of this year's mid-term elections. A large number of Democrats support this idea, as do a majority of Americans.

More: Democrats support Medicare for all in about half of the home runs that they are contesting

More: Medicare for all is a topic of electoral discussion for all. What does it really mean?

More: Donald Trump: The Medicare for All Democrats Demolish the Promises Made to the Elderly

But polls show that the public is still unclear on the details of "Medicare for all" and that support drops when they are given more information. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan organization, defines the program as a program that would replace virtually all other sources of private health coverage and most public programs.

Seema Verma testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on her appointment as Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on February 16, 2017. (Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images)

Republicans have also emphasized the politics of this cycle, trying to link Democrats to Medicare for all, even in some cases where the candidates say that they do not support the approach.

In an editorial for USA TODAY, President Donald Trump called the public health insurance plan for all of "just the beginning" of a socialist program for Democrats. He said the program would cost "surprisingly" $ 32.6 billion over its first 10 years, referring to a study done by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University on a proposed health care plan by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 2016. Democratic presidential candidate who could run in 2020.

Politifact found that Americans as a whole would pay more to the government to fund health care, but overall less than they currently pay. The fact-finding site also noted that the study predicted that total spending on health care would decrease by about $ 2 trillion over 10 years.

Contribute: Nicole Gaudiano and Maureen Groppe

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It was incredible. It was messy. It was awesome. Tony Spitz of Buzz60 has the details on the annual Gink Pumpkin Drop from Utah.
Buzz60

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