House Democrats are planning to unveil Medicare for All legislation soon, turning up the heat on Democratic presidential candidates facing questions over how far they want to go in embracing a national government health system.
The bill from Rep. Pramila Jayapal and other House Democrats is expected to closely mirror a Senate Medicare for All bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders (L, Vt.), which would expand government-run health insurance to all and do away with the current system of employer-provided coverage. At the same time, more than 100 organizing events will take place this week nationwide to build grass-roots support for Medicare for All.
The initiatives will put added pressure on Democratic candidates to make clear where they stand on the issue.
Some of the candidates want a total government health system, also known as single payer, that would end employer and most private coverage. Others are supporting steppingstones to single payer, such as a letting people younger than 65 buy into Medicare, the popular program for seniors.
The disagreements are providing an opening for opponents to attack.
”Medicare for All’s bumper sticker message sounds good until we find out what’s under the hood,” said Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.) in a February subcommittee hearing. ”We know it ends employer and union coverage and hurts the Medicare trust fund.”
More than half of Americans support Medicare for All, according to a January poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
But support slips when people are asked about aspects of the plan. Just 37% of people back Medicare for All if they hear it requires higher taxes or eliminates private insurance.
Democratic candidates largely support a national government health system of some sort, where people pay for publicly funded health coverage instead of paying private insurers. But they remain polarized over implementation.
Democratic Seri. Kamala Harris of California, a presidential candidate, faced a backlash after she said at a re-cent town hall that the Medi-care for All plan she supports would eliminate private insurance, which currently covers more than 150 million Ameri-cans. She has said she is also open to more moderate ideas.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he backed Medi-care for All but still saw a role for private insurance, a system that exists in countries such as the U.K. that have a government health plan. “I’ve gone across this country, sat with Republican farmers, independents, everybody agrees that the United States of America, we should never have some-one who can’t get access to care because they can’t afford it,” Mr. Booker said recently.
Democratic candidates such as Mr. Booker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) have signed onto the Medicare for All bill from Mr. Sanders but are treading cautiously by also backing more incremental measures. Other potential candidates, such as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), have refrained from supporting Mr. Sanders’s plan.
Ms. Warren said Medicare for All wouldn’t necessarily mean an immediate end to employer-provided health insurance.
Republicans and industry groups opposed to Medicare for All are stepping up their attacks. Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, made up of hospitals, drug makers and insurers, has had briefings with Democratic lawmakers and launched digital ads opposing a national health care system.