Progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed Joe Biden hard on setting up a form of Universal Healthcare….
Nothing….
The Public Option has been set up in only 3 states….
Even in those states?
Private/Commercial Health Insurance stays there….
The Biden admin has decided that there are more important things on the healthcare fronts…
Some Democrats will continue to talk about this…
But?
Other things are higher on their list of ‘wants’….
The public option insurance plan has fallen off the national radar, despite being a major point of contention between moderates and progressives just a year ago during President Biden‘s campaign.
But rather than holding Biden’s feet to the fire on the issue, progressives are concentrating on other health care priorities, like ensuring drug pricing reform and expanded Medicare are included in a massive infrastructure package.
“Crafting a public option is much more difficult than lowering the Medicare eligibility age and expanding benefits,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus….
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Biden’s time in office has been consumed primarily with responding to the coronavirus pandemic, and the window to enact other parts of his ambitious agenda, like infrastructure, is now rapidly closing…
…
Biden campaigned on creating a public option, touting it as a way to reduce costs without completely ending private insurance, in contrast to “Medicare for All.” The Medicare-like government insurance plan backed by Biden would be sold on ObamaCare’s marketplaces.
Biden said his proposal would cost $800 billion, as opposed to the estimated $32 trillion to enact Medicare for All.
But while the president’s $6 trillion budget unveiled last month expressed support for creating a public option, it was not included in the funding request.
“I think you have to, you have to choose your battles, and I don’t quibble with the fact that the administration made the decision to prioritize COVID relief and infrastructure. I think that’s probably the right way to go,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told The Hill.
Murphy said without a push from the White House, it may be difficult to build momentum behind a public option, especially since most of the health care industry opposes any kind of government-run insurance plan.
Health care companies argue a public option would not reimburse providers enough, and would pull customers away from traditional insurance plans by offering cheaper premiums….
Oh it’s coming.
About ten years or so.
The private insurance companies will continue to exist as they presently do under Medicare.
We all understand how you try to apply what is going on today as indicative of the future .Its not ,as anyone with a modicum of intelligence would understand.
Just trying to keep it real….
And see that u acknowledge that Americans will not give up private ins as a choice…
We already have medicaid and medicate