Senator Bernie Sanders has come out with a health-care plan that would have the government provide coverage for all, creating a federal "single-payer" health care system.  Under the bill, every resident of the United States would receive health insurance through an expanded Medicare program.

Sanders says his plan would be funded in part by higher taxes on the wealthy and a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers.

Senator Richard Blumenthal is co-sponsoring the bill.

4th District Congressman Jim Himes says he'd want more details about any health care overhaul plan.  He called Medicare a great program that's easy to expand.  But he cautioned that it's also financially unstable with a substantial unfunded liability.  Himes wants to make sure any plan will not make that worse and make sure that the premiums would not make the problem worse.

Himes also wants to look at states that have rejected single-payer systems.  Vermont tried and California recently shelved debate on a proposal.

Sanders says this is what Americans want.  But polling shows that support for the idea has grown only to about 50 percent. Support for the idea drops in polling when people are asked to consider the costs.