Partnership Statement On First Democratic Presidential Debate

WASHINGTON – The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future issued the following statement regarding tonight’s Democratic presidential debate:

“Tonight’s debate touched on many of the serious risks Medicare for all would pose for Americans – including the elimination of their current coverage, its debilitating payment cuts to hospitals that would put Americans’ access to quality care at risk, not to mention the enormous costs to taxpayers,” said Lauren Crawford Shaver, the Partnership’s executive director.  “It’s important to remember, however, that the government-run insurance systems supported by many of the candidates making these points – such as ‘Medicare buy-in’ or a ‘public option’ – are stepping stones to a one-size-fits-all system, and would ultimately lead to the same results.  We look forward to a continued discussion of America’s health care future, because the more Americans know about the realities of these proposed government-run systems, the clearer it will become that the best path forward is to build and improve upon what is working and fix what isn’t.”

Earlier today, the Partnership launched a timely, targeted digital advertising campaign to educate the American public on the realities of a one-size-fits-all health care system.  “If you’re watching the Democratic debate online tonight, expect to see a lot of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future,” POLITICO reported. “The group is sponsoring YouTube’s homepage in 2020 early primary states, as well as in Miami and Washington, D.C. … It also will run video ads online, including on MSNBC’s platform.”  The Partnership is also running video ads on Twitter and Facebook and sponsoring a health care-themed SnapChat geofilter around the debate venue.

New national polling data by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals that “majorities of Americans are unaware of the kind of dramatic changes that [Medicare for all] would bring to the nation’s health care system,” underscoring the need for public education on the issue.  “One big mistake: 55 percent of respondents mistakenly believe that people with private insurance would be able to keep their current arrangement under Medicare for All,” POLITICO reports.

However, “[t]here’s one thing Americans understand about Medicare-for-all: It would mean higher taxes … Americans seem most familiar with the fact that Medicare-for-all would require massively higher taxes,” The Washington Post reports.  As Kaiser notes, “eight in 10 Americans (78%) are aware that taxes would increase for most people under such a plan.”

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) finds that even a low-end estimated Medicare for all price tag of $30 trillion over a decade “would mean increasing federal spending by about 60 percent (excluding interest)” and “require the equivalent of tripling payroll taxes or more than doubling all other taxes.”  Previous national polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that six in 10 Americans oppose Medicare for all once they learn it forces families to pay more in taxes. 

• To learn more about Medicare for all and so-called “moderate” fallback proposals, CLICK HERE.
• To learn more about the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, CLICK HERE.

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