Affordable Care Act 2.0: Biden Unveils Plan To Expand Health Law, Sharpening Dividing Line Between Candidates

CNN: Biden Proposes Massive New Obamacare Subsidies, Public Option In Health Care Plan
Joe Biden is proposing massive new subsidies to make health coverage through Obamacare's exchanges cheaper -- as well as a new "public option" that would allow people to buy into a program his campaign says would be similar to Medicare. The former vice president unveiled his health care plan Monday morning amid an escalating fight with his 2020 Democratic presidential foes as some more liberal candidates advocate enrolling all Americans in a national health plan, all but eliminating private health insurance. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to deliver a speech making his case for "Medicare for All" on Wednesday, according to his campaign. And California Sen. Kamala Harris, who has similarly backed a single-payer, government-run health program, teased the upcoming rollout of her plan in front of a crowd in New Hampshire on Sunday, too. (Bradner and Luhby, 7/15)

ABC News: Former Vice President Joe Biden Rolls Out Expanded Affordable Care Act Health Plan
In a video of the announcement released by the campaign, Biden expresses his surprise at so many Democratic candidates opposing the ACA. "I knew the Republicans would do everything in their power to repeal Obamacare. They still are. But I'm surprised that so many Democrats are running on getting rid of it," Biden said.The campaign estimates the plan will cost $750 billion over 10 years. Senior advisers said Biden would rescind President Donald Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy, raise the maximum tax bracket to 39% and get rid of the capital gains tax loophole for wealthy families with incomes greater than $1 million a year in order to cover the hefty price tag. (Harper, Donato and Nagle, 7/15)

The Washington Post: Biden To Unveil Health Plan, Sharpening Fight Among Democrats
At the heart of Biden’s health-care plan, which senior campaign officials said would cover more than 97 percent of Americans, is a proposal to let people choose a government-run health system like Medicare if they aren’t happy with private insurance. Obama initially set out to include such a public option in the ACA law, but later backed away from the idea amid political resistance. The former vice president would bolster other parts of the ACA designed to help people purchase insurance. It would get rid of the income cap — 400 percent of the federal poverty level — used to determine who qualifies for tax credits that help Americans pay insurance premiums. (Sullivan, 7/15)

Politico: Biden Unveils Health Care Plan: Affordable Care Act 2.0
Health policy experts said that Biden’s coverage plan appears to be more politically feasible than Sanders’ proposal. “Building on the ACA is the quickest way to get more people insured and improve affordability, while not taking on any powerful health industry group or disrupting coverage for those who already have it,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation. But incremental improvements to the ACA would leave “an inefficient and costly health care system in place,” Levitt added, preserving high prices and high deductibles for the roughly 160 million Americans with employer-based health coverage. (Diamond, 7/15)

The Associated Press: Biden Campaigns As Obamacare's Top Defender 
Biden is hoping his positioning as Obamacare's chief defender could be helpful on several fronts. It's a reminder of his close work alongside President Barack Obama, who remains popular among Democratic voters. And it could reinforce his pitch as a sensible centrist promising to rise above the strident cacophony of Trump and Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, all single-payer advocates. (Barrow, 7/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Democratic Candidates Clash Over Health Care
The health-care debate among Democratic candidates is intensifying, with Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders fighting over whether to shore up the Affordable Care Act or to move to a government-run health plan. The former vice president warned in recent days that scrapping President Obama’s health-care law in favor of a government-run program would create a hiatus in coverage for families. Mr. Sanders has championed Medicare for All, a single-payer plan in which all Americans get health insurance through a government system. He accused Mr. Biden of spreading misinformation and said there would be no gaps in coverage. (Thomas, 7/14)

Boston Herald: Joe Biden Knocks Democratic Presidential Rivals On ‘Medicare For All’
“I have a fundamental disagreement with them on scrapping Obamacare,” Biden told an overflow crowd of more than 400 in a barn at Mack’s Apples in Londonderry. “I think we should build on it. We should provide a public option for anybody,” Biden said. “I’m against anybody who wants to do away with it and start over.” Biden has been striking at support for the single-payer health care plan championed by the likes of U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (Kashinsky, 7/13)

The New York Times: Joe Biden Decides He Doesn’t Need To Stay Above The Fray After All
“I admire the rest of the field, from Bernie to Elizabeth to Kamala who want, you know, Medicare for All, but let me tell you, I think one of the most significant things we’ve done in our administration is pass the Affordable Care Act,” Mr. Biden said to applause here Saturday morning, referencing the signature health care measure passed under the Obama administration. (Glueck, 7/14)

CNN: Bernie Sanders Accuses Biden Of 'Misinformation' On 'Medicare For All'
"At a time when Donald Trump and the health insurance industry are lying every day about Medicare for all, I would hope that my fellow Democrats would not resort to misinformation about my legislation," Sanders said in the statement. He said under his proposal, "over a four-year period, we will transition to a system in which Medicare is expanded to cover every man, woman, and child in the country." "It is preposterous to argue that as we expand Medicare for All that people with cancer and other illnesses will not get the care that they need," Sanders said. "In fact, under Medicare for All, the good news is that we will end the horror of millions of people going into bankruptcy and financial distress simply because they need hospital care for serious conditions." (Bradner, 7/13)