Ocasio-Cortez on Paying for Medicare for All: How Do You Pay for Something That’s More Affordable?

Likely incoming New York congressman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is pitching big ticket ideas like free college tuition and free Medicare for all.

During an interview with Jorge Ramos today, Ocasio-Cortez mocked those who ask her how she’s going to pay for such massive programs.

“People often say, like, how are you going to pay for it?” she replied. “And I find the question so puzzling because how do you pay for something that's more affordable? How do you pay for cheaper rent? How do you pay for — you just pay for it.”

“And we're paying more now!” her explanation continued. “So it's not that that we're saying this whole system is free, we're saying it is free of cost at the point of service. So that means that you're not delaying going to the dentist because you don't have the cash at the point of service."

Asked how she would pay for her plan to make college tuition free, Ocasio-Cortez ducked, instead saying education is important.

“So we can afford that?” Ramos asked.

“Absolutely, absolutely,” she responded.

Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

RAMOS: “So, I have 10 big ideas, I have my list.”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Okay.”

RAMOS: “Can we go one by one?”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Yeah, let’s do it.”

RAMOS: “Alright, alright. Okay, so number 10.”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Countdown.”

RAMOS: “Medicare for all. Is it too expensive?”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “No. People often say, like, how are you going to pay for it? And I find the question so puzzling because how do you pay for something that’s more affordable? How do you pay for cheaper rent? How do you pay for — you just pay for it. And we’re paying more now! So it’s not that that we’re saying this whole system is free, we’re saying it is free of cost at the point of service. So that means that you’re not delaying going to the dentist because you don’t have the cash at the point of service.”

RAMOS: “Number nine, tuition-free public universities for all. Who will pay for that?”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “So, we’re already paying for tuition-free K-12, and in the same way that we made a decision as a country to say we need to educate people to a 12th grade level, our economy has evolved and that means we need to make the decision to educate people to a trade school or collegiate level.”

RAMOS: “So we can afford that?”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Absolutely, absolutely.”