Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Any Financial Plan For 'Medicare For All' Is Going To Come With Trade-Offs, Budget Watchdog Warns
The Hill: Budget Watchdog Group Outlines 'Medicare For All' Financing Options
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) on Monday released a paper providing its preliminary estimates for various ways to finance "Medicare for All," as the issue of how to pay for such a health plan has taken center stage in the Democratic presidential primary. "Policymakers have a number of options available to finance the $30 trillion cost of Medicare for All, but each option would come with its own set of trade-offs," the budget watchdog group wrote. (Jagoda, 10/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Here’s How Elizabeth Warren Could Pay For Medicare For All
As Sen. Elizabeth Warren develops her proposal for financing Medicare for All and reshaping how Americans pay for health care, she faces a complex set of challenges. The Democratic presidential hopeful from Massachusetts could propose a plan to partly pay for a single-payer system by finding ways to reduce health-care costs, expanding budget deficits or adding new levies on the richest Americans. But replacing insurance premiums would likely require taxes on individuals and businesses. (Rubin, 10/28)
The Hill: Harris: 'I Knew I'd Be Called A Flip-Flopper' On 'Medicare For All'
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) says she knew she would be “called a flip-flopper” when she backed away from her initial support for "Medicare for All" in favor of developing her own health care plan. Harris has come under criticism in the Democratic presidential race for shifting her position on Medicare for All, originally saying in January, “Let’s eliminate all that,” in reference to private insurance. (Sullivan, 10/28)
Meanwhile, in New York —
The Wall Street Journal: Hearings On Single-Payer Health-Care Plans Draw Crowds Around New York
New Yorkers are waiting hours and lining up down the street to tell state legislators the same refrain: fix health care. Workers, physicians, nurses, parents, business owners, the elderly and the infirm have been testifying at hearings around the state about the New York Health Act, which would establish universal, guaranteed health care across the state with a single-payer plan. During the most recent forum, at a public library in the Bronx last week, people filled a 150-seat auditorium to hear testimony that ultimately ended when the library closed for the day. (West and Vielkind, 10/28)
