WTAS: One-Size-Fits-All Approach Noticeably Absent from Health Care Debate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress continues to draft legislation to improve access to affordable health care and the Administration signals its top health care priorities, unaffordable, government-controlled health care proposals like the public option, Medicare at 60, and Medicare for All are notably absent. Instead, health care proposals are focused on building on our current system to improve affordability and access for American patients and families.   

Preserving Medicare, Medicaid, and other heavily relied on programs, while also building on the strength of the employer-sponsored health insurance system will expand access to affordable, high-quality coverage for every American. 

• “In 2009, before the [Affordable Care Act], the Medicare trustees projected that Medicare’s trust fund would be exhausted in 2017; their latest projection is 2028. But we should do better than that and extend Medicare’s solvency beyond 2050,” said President Biden in a New York Times op-ed. (New York Times, 03/07/23) 
• “[The budget] would make the expanded ACA tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act permanent and encourage states with expanded Medicaid to continue those programs. The administration also touts ‘Medicaid-like coverage’ for people in states without Medicaid expansion.” (Politico Pro, 03/09/23) 
• “A major driver of record growth on the ACA’s exchanges has been a boost to subsidies included in the American Rescue Plan Act.” (Fierce Healthcare, 03/09/23) 

A one-size-fits-all approach like Medicare for All or Public Option won’t allow us to lower costs, protect patient choice, expand access and quality, or foster innovation. 

• “As more states propose “public option” plans and the healthcare industry continues to consolidate, it will be easier and easier for these public options to become the only option in parts of the country, which will yield the same bad results as a single-payer system.” (Washington Examiner, 03/14/23) 
• “’With the ACA as the status quo, President Biden’s budget does not call for transformational health reform. Rather, he is focused on sustaining Medicare, filling in gaps and addressing affordability…,’ Larry Levitt, Kaiser Family Foundation executive vice president for health policy, wrote on Twitter.” (Axios Vitals, 03/10/23) 

Recent polling shows most voters remain concerned about the access, cost, and long-term fiscal impacts of creating the public option or opening Medicare to younger Americans. Today, a majority of Americans (67%) support fixing the current system than a government-run program. Most Americans (76%) including Democrats (67%) are unwilling to pay more in order to support a government health insurance plan. Policymakers should focus on building on our current system, not implementing unaffordable proposals like the public option, Medicare at 60, and Medicare for All. 

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