Healthcare IS the prime worry for most Americans….
Biden is working to counter Bernie Sanders ‘Medicare for All’ sell….
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden today will unveil a health plan that’s intended to preserve the most popular parts of Obamacare — from Medicaid expansion to protections for patients with pre-existing conditions — and build on them with a new government-run public insurance option.
Biden would also empower Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices, allow the importation of prescription drugs from abroad and extend tax credits to help tens of millions of Americans buy lower-priced health insurance.
The plan — which the campaign says will cost $750 billion over a decade, to be paid for by reversing some of the Trump administration’s tax cuts — is less transformative than the “Medicare for All” proposal advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and supported by some other Democrats, which would effectively do away with private insurance and shift all Americans to government-run health care.
“I understand the appeal of Medicare for All,” Biden said in a video posted this morning. “But folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of Obamacare. And I’m not for that.”
Progressives have argued that Democratic candidates should aim for Medicare for All because it protects the party from starting with — and settling for — a more incremental compromise. Democrats and former President Barack Obama previously supported a public option that could compete with private health plans before dropping it as part of negotiations around the Affordable Care Act….
Note…
A Federal judge COULD cancel the whole law on one thing….
Republicans have no real plan to establish a new health care system if the courts strike down the Affordable Care Act before the 2020 election. But plenty of them are rooting for its demise anyway — even if it means plunging the GOP into a debate that splits the party and leaves them politically vulnerable.
After a decade of trying to gut Obamacare, Republicans may finally get their wish thanks to a Trump administration-backed lawsuit. Its success would cause chaos not only in the insurance markets but on Capitol Hill. And Republican senators largely welcome it — even if they don’t know what comes next.
“I’m ready for it to succeed,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “I would love to get back in and actually deal with health care again.”
“Do I hope the lawsuit succeeds? I do,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). “What I wish is we had some idea where we are going if it does succeed, as it looks more and more like it might.”
Even Republicans not known for taking a hard line are eager for a forcing mechanism to take on Obamacare….
image…medicareworld.com