CNN: ‘While Democrats Are Arguing About Medicare For All, It May Not Even Be What Their Party Wants’

WASHINGTON – In the wake of last week’s “sparsely attended” hearing of the House Committee on the Budget about the consequences of a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system, CNN reports that few Americans support Medicare for all once they better understand its consequences, and even most Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would prefer our elected officials focus instead on improving and building upon what works in American health care:

So while Democrats are arguing about Medicare for all, it may not even be what their party wants. Slightly more than half (52%) of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents said they think Democrats in Congress should focus their efforts on improving and protecting the 2010 Affordable Care Act over passing a national Medicare for all plan (39%), according to Kaiser’s April poll … But there’s still an appetite for improving the current system in the progressive wing of the party.  Liberal Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents tipped slightly towards improving the Affordable Care Act (49%) than passing Medicare for all (43%) while moderate Democrats and leaners were more solidly behind the ACA (62%) than Medicare [for all] (32%).  But even liberal Democrats want Congress to focus on protecting the ACA over passing Medicare [for all], but just in lower numbers than their moderate counterparts.

As Bloomberg reported last week, Medicare for all is also “hitting serious obstacles in the U.S. House in the face of resistance from Democratic leaders” and the legislation “hasn’t gained much support since its release” earlier this year.  The effort, they write, “appears unlikely to go much further.”

And while so-called “buy-in” or “public option” schemes have been floated as a more “moderate” alternative to Medicare for all, in fact these new government insurance systems would expand already at-risk public programs and are designed to be a slippery slope to Medicare for all.  Under these proposals, the result would be the same: a one-size-fits-all system run by the government that takes away consumers’ choices, threatens patients’ access to quality care and passes unaffordable costs on to taxpayers.

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