They Said It – React To “Medicare For All” Push – “Would Bankrupt Us For A Very Long Time,” “You Can’t Just Pull The Rug Out,” “I’m Not There”

In Case You Missed It…

As the San Francisco Chronicle leads with this today – “Kamala Harris, Other 2020 Democrats Move To The Bernie Sanders Left” –

“Harris amplified her support for government-paid health care for everyone Monday when she was asked during a televised town hall meeting in Iowa whether people who like their insurance plans could keep them under single payer. ‘The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care, and you don’t have to go through the process of going through an insurance company … going through the paperwork,’ Harris said. ‘Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on.’” (Joe Garofoli, “Kamala Harris, Other 2020 Democrats Move To The Bernie Sanders Left,” San Francisco Chronicle, 1/30/19)

 

The Reaction Is Telling…

CNN: “Democrats Distance Themselves From Harris’ Call To Eliminate Private Health Plans”

• U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): “It would take a mighty transition to move from where we are to that.”
• U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): “About 80%” of those who get insurance through their employers like their private insurance plan. I’m not going to say you have to give it up.”
• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): “Well I’m not there.”
• U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI): “It’s a process – you can’t just pull the rug out from underneath everybody’s feet. If you tell the American people you must do this, my experience has been a lot of people will say, ‘You can’t tell me to do anything.’”

CNN: “Michael Bloomberg: Medicare-For-All ‘Would Bankrupt Us For A Very Long Time’”
Michael Bloomberg: “I think you could never afford that. You’re talking about trillions of dollars … I think you can have Medicare for all for people that are uncovered, because that’s a smaller group … but to replace the entire private system where companies provide health care for their employees would bankrupt us for a very long time.”

This Washington Post Headline Helps Explain Why…

“Democratic Candidates Face Political Risks When Pressed On Health-Care Specifics”

• “The plan is estimated to cost $32.6 trillion by 2031, according to the Mercatus Center’s Charles Blahous. Candidates can point to evidence that there’s popular support for the idea. Fifty-six percent of respondents backed a Medicare-for-all plan, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey. The same poll showed 42 percent opposed it. But enthusiasm for the idea plummets when respondents are told the plan would largely eliminate private health insurance companies: Only 37 percent favor eliminating private insurance. And nearly 70 percent of those surveyed in a Gallup report released in December said they think their health coverage is either ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’” (Annie Linskey, “Democratic Candidates Face Political Risks When Pressed On Health-Care Specifics,” The Washington Post, 1/30/19)

Flashback…

From The Washington Post last week:

• “Medicare for All didn’t sell nearly as well on the campaign trail as some have imagined. They point to the most competitive House districts, where the winning Democrats largely didn’t run on — or even support — the idea. Of the 35 Democrats who seized Republican-held seats, 23 didn’t support Medicare-for-All, and seven more who did support it nonetheless didn’t run on it, according to an analysis by Forbes Tate Partners, a public affairs and lobbying firm founded by former Democratic administration officials that is managing part of the coalition.” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, “Health-Care Industry Preps Offense Against Medicare-For-All,” The Washington Post, 1/22/19)