Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats' Fault Lines Over Health Care Reveal Deeper Philosophical Differences That Go Beyond One Issue
Bloomberg: Joe Biden V. Bernie Sanders Health Care Plans: Key Differences
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are engaged in open warfare over health care that could harden party divisions and play into the hands of President Donald Trump. In the latest iteration of the battle, Biden’s communications director posted an article on Saturday, entitled “Let’s Get Real About Health Care,” that delved into the potential costs of the proposals favored by the Democratic party’s left flank. The tension points to a broader power struggle in Washington and on the campaign trail that pits long-dominant moderates like Biden against an insurgent wing led by Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (Kapur, 7/19)
The Associated Press: 2020 Dems Grapple With How To Pay For 'Medicare For All'
Democratic presidential candidates trying to appeal to progressive voters with a call for "Medicare for All" are wrestling with the thorny question of how to pay for such a dramatic overhaul of the U.S. health care system. Bernie Sanders, the chief proponent of Medicare for All, says such a remodel could cost up to $40 trillion over a decade. He's been the most direct in talking about how he'd cover that eye-popping amount, including considering a tax hike on the middle class in exchange for healthcare without co-payments or deductibles — which, he contends, would ultimately cost Americans less than the current healthcare system. (Schor, 7/19)
The Hill: Biden Campaign Rips 'Medicare For All,' Calls On Dems To Protect Affordable Care Act
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign expanded his critiques against “Medicare for All” and pressed its opponents to fight to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which the former vice president played a crucial role in ushering through Congress. Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director Kate Bedingfield detailed Republican efforts to overhaul the Obama administration’s signature legislation. (Axelrod, 7/20)
Kaiser Health News: Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift
The headlines about presidential candidate Joe Biden’s new health care plan called it “a nod to the past” and “Affordable Care Act 2.0.” That mostly refers to the fact that the former vice president has specifically repudiated many of his Democratic rivals’ calls for a “Medicare for All” system and instead sought to build his plan on the ACA’s framework. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of Biden’s opponents in the primary race and the key proponent of the Medicare for All option, has criticized Biden’s proposal, complaining that it is just “tinkering around the edges” of a broken health care system. (Rovner, 7/22)
The Washington Post: The Trailer: The Democrats' Fault Lines On Health Care
All last week, while Washington was preoccupied with the president's Fox News-inspired war against four left-wing congresswomen, the Democrats running for president made pilgrimages to Iowa. Seventeen of them sat down with the Des Moines Register and AARP for 25-minute interviews about health care and aging — the most substantive big “cattle call” so far. It came at a critical time in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden kicked off the forums Monday by telling his audience that the Medicare-for-all plan supported by his highest-polling rivals would mean that “Medicare goes away as you know it.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) closed the forums Saturday by warning that the former vice president was lying and that his plan would improve Medicare: “We should not have distortions of what Medicare-for-all stands for.” (Weigel, 7/21)
The Wall Street Journal: What Is (And Isn’t) Medicare For All
Medicare for All has dominated the Democratic presidential campaign. Some candidates support Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan, but others have different ideas for how to get to universal coverage. WSJ explains what Medicare for All is, what it isn’t, and how some of the major health care plans out there would change the health insurance industry. (7/22)
The New York Times: Fact-Checking Trump’s Claims That Democrats Are Radical Socialists
How much truth is there to Mr. Trump’s characterization of the Democratic Party? Here is a fact check. ... It is true that every Democratic presidential candidate vying to replace Mr. Trump has called for increasing the federal commitment to health care, education and the environment, among other proposals. Those plans would generally require substantially more government spending, higher taxes, an increased public-sector role in private markets and a reversal of the deregulatory push championed by Mr. Trump. (Epstein and Qiu, 7/20)
And in other news —
The Hill: Bullock: I Would Not Have Endorsed Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants On Debate Stage
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) said Sunday that he would not have joined his fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who raised their hands on the debate stage last month to indicate they favored providing health care to undocumented immigrants. “A lot of the discussion that’s been happening on the debate stage is a bit disconnected from people’s everyday lives,” Bullock, who did not qualify for the Democratic National Committee’s first debate but is set to participate in the second, told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. (Budryk, 7/21)
