August 12, 2026 | Source: Scientific American | by Adam Kovac

Implementing a universal, single-payer health care system would save the U.S. more than $1 trillion and some 114,000 lives every year, according to a recent Yale University analysis.

In a preprint paper posted on July 24 that has not yet been peer-reviewed—the gold-standard quality check for academic research—scientists at Yale’s School of Public Health and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, found that, under the current U.S. health care system, which largely hinges on private insurance, Americans spend some $5.2 trillion per year on health care. Under a “Medicare for All” system, they estimated, that would shrink to around $4.2 trillion, with savings of $1.04 trillion.

As defined by the researchers, Medicare for All would expand the current Medicare system, which currently provides health insurance to Americans aged 65 and older, to the entire population. It’s a popular policy point on the political left, and the study has already been picked up by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a staunch universal health care proponent.

In a statement, Sanders, who has introduced numerous Medicare for All bills during his tenure, said the study “confirms what we have known for years: Medicare for All saves lives and saves money.”