Progressives Will Get Their Debate On Medicare For All -- And Questions Abound
Democrats have put the issue on the House’s agenda, so now the real scrutiny begins.
The debate about Medicare for All is about to get more serious ― and more complicated.
The idea of creating a single national health insurance program for all Americans has been a big topic of political conversation since 2016, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) touted it during his Democratic presidential campaign. But Medicare for All couldn’t be anything more than a rallying cry as long as Republicans controlled the levers of power in Washington.
Political circumstances are different now. Democrats hold the House majority and, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office confirmed to The Washington Post on Thursday, at least two committees will hold hearings on Medicare for All this year. Exactly what those hearings will entail isn’t clear ― Democratic leaders aren’t saying ― but one focus will be a bill that Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) plans to introduce in the next few weeks.
Jayapal is a leader of a Medicare for All House caucus that had 78 members as of late November and, with an infusion of newly elected Democrats, should soon have more. The new bill will be similar to one she co-sponsored in the last Congress, which in turn was similar to a bill Sanders introduced in the Senate.
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https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/medicare-for-all-bernie-sanders-democrats_us_5c2cf914e4b05c88b70514b5
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