Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is pitching Medicare for All as a universal health insurance guarantee with no premiums, copays, deductibles, networks, or out-of-pocket costs, despite warnings that eliminating virtually all patient costs would leave taxpayers responsible for the bill.
In an exclusive clip from an interview on Intellectually Petty Radio provided to Breitbart News, El-Sayed said:
“I think you need to guarantee health care for everyone, cradle to grave, without premium, copay, deductible. Medicare for all. And I just want you to imagine, right, that that card that you get in your — via your private health insurer — that card sits in your back pocket. You pay a ton of money for it, and it goes away if you lose your job. Now, imagine you had one right there, but you got the day you were born that doesn’t expire until you expire, God willing, after a long, healthy life at 120 years old in your sleep. You don’t lose it if you turn 26. You don’t lose it if you turn 65. You don’t lose it if you get married, get divorced. Doesn’t matter. It’s there for you. There’s no network, and there’s no cost out of pocket. That’s the security people need and deserve.”
The remarks show El-Sayed doubling down on Medicare for All with no premiums, no copays, no deductibles, and no out-of-pocket expenses.
Medicare as it exists today does not operate that way. Seniors commonly pay Part B premiums, face deductibles, and remain responsible for coinsurance and other out-of-pocket expenses. The program is also heavily subsidized by federal taxpayers and contributes substantially to the national debt.
The healthcare systems often cited by supporters of government-run health care also do not provide the no-cost-to-patients system El-Sayed is promoting. Germany requires mandatory payroll contributions, Canadians frequently buy supplemental coverage, France relies heavily on private insurance, and Japan requires significant patient cost-sharing.
RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell exclusively told Breitbart News, “Abdul El-Sayed is asking Michigan families to buy into a fantasy that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. Medicare-for-All isn’t free, and pretending otherwise is either breathtakingly naive or a deliberate attempt to mislead Michiganders about the true cost of his radical, far-left agenda. Michigan voters deserve a senator who will fight to deliver lower healthcare costs, not sell socialist fairy tales that would leave taxpayers holding the bag.”
El-Sayed, who is running in the race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), has made universal health care central to his campaign. Breitbart News previously reported that his official campaign website bills him as the “only candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan running to guarantee health care for every single American.”
His website also says, “Medicare should be automatic, for everyone, and accepted everywhere. Medicare for All does not have to ban additional private insurance through unions or employers, although Medicare for All should make those choices redundant and unnecessary.”
El-Sayed has also included reproductive and “gender-affirming care” in his healthcare platform. Under a section titled “Healthcare Freedom for Women and LGBTQ+ Americans,” his website says healthcare decisions should be made by a patient, parents if the patient is a minor, and a doctor, adding, “That includes reproductive and gender-affirming care.”
Breitbart News reported in April 2025 that Michigan Senate Democrat candidates’ support for Medicare for All or a public option could endanger the state’s rural hospitals, citing studies and hospital administrators who warned that such systems could force closures, service reductions, or staffing cuts.
That report noted that Michigan has 35 rural hospitals and cited studies finding that Medicare for All would cost $32 trillion over ten years and require “historic” tax increases. It also cited a 2019 Navigant Consulting study finding that a public option could put as many as 55 percent of rural hospitals at risk of closure, affecting 1,037 hospitals, more than 63,000 staffed beds, and 420,000 employees.
Politico reviewed medical records in Michigan and New York and found El-Sayed had “never been granted a medical license in those states,” even though he has claimed he has “been a doctor” for his “whole career” and listed “physician” on his LinkedIn account; his campaign spokesperson, Roxie Richner, defended him by saying he “has earned the right to be called ‘doctor’ twice over” and described the account of his decision not to practice medicine as “Dr. El-Sayed’s origin story,” while El-Sayed said in a 2018 interview that there are “a lot of ways that one serves as a physician.”
El-Sayed’s push comes as Medicare for All has regained energy among socialist and progressive Democrats. Breitbart News reported this month that progressive primary victories have reflected renewed interest among the Democrat base in single-payer health care, while high premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and drug prices continue to fuel support for sweeping healthcare changes.