MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi says he is not an ideologue when it comes to U.S. health-care policy, but he will not stop advocating for a single-payer system.
"I don't really care about one's ideology about health care. Just show me the math that works and we can at least start from there," Velshi said in an interview with Rep. Ted Lieu (D., Calif.).
Velshi claims that he does not care about ideology regarding health care, but his past commentary appears to show that he believes a single-payer system is among the solutions to the United States' health-care problems.
In interviews with opponents of a single-payer system, Velshi pressed them on why there is not a total free-market health-care system anywhere in the world. Velshi frequently stresses that point when talking about health care.
"There are no free-market insurance systems on earth," Velshi said.
Velshi argued that if there was a free-market health insurance system, premiums would be higher, not lower.
"Free markets do not reduce premiums. In fact, in an absolutely free market, there would be higher premiums," Velshi said.
In his reporting on health care, Velshi fails to mention that states like Colorado, California, and Vermont have tried to implement a single-payer system but failed due to the high cost.
In California, singe-payer legislation was shelved because an analysis revealed that it would cost $400 billion annually. California's entire state budget for a year is $180 billion.