ICYMI: ‘Blue State Seniors Like Private Medicare Advantage Despite Single Payer Push’

WASHINGTON – While some Democratic lawmakers continue to push a plan to scrap the foundations of American health care – including employer-provided coverage, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid and Medicare – and start over from scratch with a costly, one-size-fits-all government-run system known as “Medicare for all,” new data reveals that the seniors they represent “are choosing private Medicare Advantage plans more so than the national average,” as Bruce Japsen writes at Forbes:

Seniors in progressive U.S. states are choosing private Medicare Advantage plans more so than the national averageeven as the politicians who want to represent them talk about getting rid of the insurer’s role in health coverage.  New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows more than 40% of new Medicare beneficiaries in Oregon and Minnesota chose Medicare Advantage plans in 2016. And more than 36% of new Medicare beneficiaries in New York and California chose Medicare Advantage plans in 2016.  The move toward privatized Medicare plans in Democratic-leaning states like these comes as many candidates for the party’s nomination for President are pushing a single payer version of “Medicare for All” that would bring an end to the private insurer’s role.

As the House Committee on Ways and Means prepares to hold a hearing this week on Medicare for all and other proposals, it’s notable that a recent national poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that most Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents “say they want Democrats in Congress to focus their efforts on improving and protecting the [Affordable Care Act],” not pursuing Medicare for all.

Meanwhile, as Medicare for all “falters” in Congress, some elected officials and 2020 presidential hopefuls are turning their attention to so-called “moderate” fallback proposals, often called “public option” or “Medicare buy-in.”  In reality, these proposed government insurance systems are simply “stepping stones” to a one-size-fits-all government-run system.

• To read Japsen’s full article at Forbes, CLICK HERE.