Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is ready to introduce a universal healthcare bill as early as this week as Congress returns to work.

Sanders is a conundrum of politics. In his early political career, Sanders was a member of the Liberty Union political party from 1971 to 1977. In 1979, he claimed to be an Independent and remained an Independent until he decided to run for president. He knew he didn’t have a chance of winning as an Independent, so he switched to the Democrat Party, where he gave Hillary Clinton a good run for the party’s nomination. After the election, Sanders left the Democrats and returned to being an Independent.

If Sanders was honest, he would register himself as a member of one of the nation’s socialist parties, since he is a self-professed socialist.

True to his socialist ideology, Sanders says he is prepared to introduce a universal healthcare bill, which is referred to as Medicare for all, into the Senate. He says it’s not a test for Democrats but many believe that it could make or break the Democrats’ bid to take control of the Senate and House.

What is universal healthcare or Medicare for all?

Here is one source that defines it at the national level. Just think one state instead of nation as you read:

“Single-payer national health insurance, also known as ‘Medicare for all,’ is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health care financing, but the delivery of care remains largely in private hands. Under a single-payer system, all residents of the U.S. would be covered for all medically necessary services, including doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs.”

Back in June, a similar piece of legislation was introduced into the California House. At the time, I wrote under this plan:

• Everyone would receive comprehensive healthcare coverage under single-payer;
• Care would be based on need, not on ability to pay;
• Employers would no longer be responsible for health care costs and coverage decisions;
• Single-payer would reduce costs by 24%, saving $829 billion in the first year by cutting administrative waste and allowing negotiation of prescription drugs; and
• Single-payer would create savings for 95% of the population. Only the top 5% would pay slightly more

The California universal healthcare plan was estimated to have a cost of around $400 billion. Supporters of the California measure, SB 562, tried to justify the cost of such a healthcare plan by that $200 billion could be paid for by using all of the current healthcare expenses paid out by every level of government and that the remaining $200 would be raised by increasing taxes. YES! That’s the standard Democrat response for every bill that costs more than a government can afford – raise taxes.

California already has higher than average taxes just to pay for their annual $180 billion budget. To raise $200 billion a year more would mean the taxes California residents already pay will have to be more than doubled. Guess how that will go over with the people.

Now realize that a universal healthcare system is what Sanders is pushing for. If it will cost just the state of California $400 billion a year, can you imagine the annual price tag for a national system to cover every state?

It is currently estimated that there about 325 million people in the United States. California has an estimated population of 39.8 million people, about 12.2% of the entire US population. Using that ratio and based on the cost estimate for just California, a national single-payer universal healthcare system would cost the United States government at least $3.28 TRILLION.

For 2017, the US government is scheduled to spend $3.65 trillion. It is estimated that the federal government will only take in about $3.21 trillion, leaving a deficit of $440 billion. Are you willing to pay at least double your annual federal taxes in order to pay for a single-payer or universal healthcare system?

The scary part is that Sander’s plan is gaining support among some key Democrats, including at least that has suggested a 2020 run for the White House. That includes Sen. Kamala Harris, former California State Attorney General, along with Sen Chris Murphy (D-CN), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

In reality, the only kind of socialist healthcare plan that could successfully replace Obamacare and meet the satisfaction of the people is a universal healthcare system like what Sanders is proposing. However, no one, not even Sanders has been able to offer a viable solution on how to pay for such a program. Ultimately, the cost will fall on every single taxpayer in America who will be asked or forced to pay double the federal taxes they are paying now just to keep the government running and pay for a universal healthcare plan. I don’t see that happening any time soon, or should say, I hope it doesn’t.