In Contrast To Rivals, Biden Focuses On Medicaid Push Instead Of ‘Medicare For All’ At Forum On Poverty
Nine of the presidential candidates addressed the Poor People’s Campaign, a clergy-led effort to revive the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s push for attention and resources on poverty. In his remarks, former Vice President Joe Biden focused on his plan to expand on the health law, while others took a more sweeping approach.
The Washington Post:
Biden Gets Tepid Reception At Poverty Event
The gap between former vice president Joe Biden and more liberal candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination was on display Monday before activists at a candidates forum in Washington, where representatives of the Poor People’s Campaign grilled the hopefuls on their approaches to poverty and racism. Biden outlined a new health-care proposal, which would build on the Affordable Care Act by increasing access for lower-income people. The former vice president’s tack on health care is less sweeping than the Medicare-for-all plan embraced by some of his Democratic rivals, which they touted later onstage. (Janes, 6/17)
CQ HealthBeat:
Biden Plan: End Some Tax Breaks To Address Poverty, Health Care
“We have the greatest income inequality in the . . . United States of America since 1902. The fact here is, there is plenty of money to go around,” Biden said. He was the first of nine Democratic presidential candidates to address the Poor People’s Campaign Moral Action Congress at Trinity University. “This isn’t about punishment. . . . This is just plain fairness. Simple, basic fairness. And we have all the money we need to do it.” Among other things, he suggested that eliminating certain tax credits and other provisions would pay for universal access to Medicaid. “I think everyone is entitled to have total health care,” he said. “Every single person in the United States should have access to Medicaid right off the bat.” (Cunningham, 6/17)
