Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Buttigieg Is Rare Candidate To Target Hospitals In Cost-Cutting Plan, As Sanders, Warren Shy Away From Powerful Lobby
The New York Times: Warren Has Her Plan. Buttigieg Suggests Another Way To Cut Health Prices.
One way Elizabeth Warren wants to control health care spending in the United States is simple in principle: pay doctors and hospitals significantly less. Under her version of “Medicare for all,” the government would provide health insurance to everyone, and it would be able to set the prices it pays for medical services. Numerous international studies have shown that the biggest reason the American health system is so expensive is that prices for medical care are so high. We pay more for doctors, hospitals, drugs and medical devices. This insight has become a sort of cliché among health economists, who are fond of citing a famous paper: “It’s the Prices, Stupid.” But Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind., mayor, has another idea about how to regulate health care prices. (Sanger-Katz, 11/6)
Reuters: U.S. Presidential Contender Biden Calls Warren Jab 'Elitism'
U.S. presidential contender Joe Biden launched a new attack on one of his fiercest rivals in the Democratic party on Tuesday, accusing U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of "elitism" for dismissing his criticism of her healthcare plan. On Friday, Warren unveiled details of a $20.5 trillion Medicare for All plan she wants to implement to extend government healthcare coverage to all Americans. The Biden campaign said the plan relied on "mathematical gymnastics" and would raise taxes. (Hunnicutt, 11/5)
The New York Times: Biden Attacks Warren As A ‘My Way Or The Highway’ Elitist
Mr. Biden and Ms. Warren have clashed repeatedly over health care, especially as Ms. Warren has overtaken Mr. Biden in some early-state polls. Ms. Warren supports “Medicare for all,” an expansive government-run health insurance system that would all but eliminate private health insurance, while Mr. Biden wants to add a “public option” to build on the Affordable Care Act, but still allow people to choose private insurance. Last week, after Mr. Biden’s campaign criticized Ms. Warren’s proposal to pay for Medicare for all, she suggested that Mr. Biden was “running in the wrong presidential primary.” (Glueck, 11/5)
The Hill: Democrats Give Warren's 'Medicare For All' Plan The Cold Shoulder
Senate Democrats are distancing themselves from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) “Medicare for All” plan, casting doubt on whether it could pass even if she does win the presidency. Warren rolled out her proposal for Medicare for All last week, instantly fanning the flames of a raging debate among the Democratic presidential contenders over the idea. (Sullivan, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal: States’ Attempts At Medicare-For-All Proposals Haven’t Ended Well
Democratic presidential front-runners Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are confronting the same challenges to their health-care policies that foiled state lawmakers who tried to launch universal health systems in recent years. Legislators in Vermont, Mr. Sanders’s state, backed Medicare for All before figuring out a detailed financing plan, and the final numbers were too high to sell politically. Colorado weighed its own version of guaranteed health care, but public support fell as the industry ramped up an opposition effort. (Armour, 11/5)
And Warren addresses military and veteran issues, as well —
The Hill: Warren Unveils Plan To Address Veteran Suicide Rates, Mental Health
White House hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday set a goal of cutting the rate of veteran suicides in half during her first term as part of a sprawling plan to improve their lives. "Every single one of these deaths is a tragedy that could have been prevented," Warren said on a webpage outlining the plan. "As President, I will set a goal of cutting veteran suicides in half within my first term — and pursue a suite of concrete policies to make sure we get there." (Frazin, 11/5)
Politico: Warren Pledges To Overturn Military Transgender Ban On Day 1
Elizabeth Warren Tuesday released a detailed plan to tackle the needs of the military and veterans that pledges to roll back Trump administration policies that bar transgender troops and to not deport non-citizens who have served in uniform, or their families. The Massachusetts senator who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination maintains her first step as president would be to overturn President Donald Trump's decision to prohibit transgender troops in the military. (Bender, 11/5)
