Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Push More Moderate, Politically Palatable Plan That Would Allow Medicare Buy-In At Age 50
Politico: Push For Medicare Buy-In Picks Up With '50 And Over' Bill
House and Senate Democrats unveiled a plan Wednesday that would allow anyone over age 50 to buy into Medicare — an incremental step to expand health coverage beyond Obamacare's gains that offers an alternative to the ambitious restructuring progressives envision in their push for Medicare for All. "I have always supported universal health care but we are not there yet," said Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), one of the co-sponsors. "Medicare at 50 is a very bold step in the right direction." (Ollstein, 2/13)
The Hill: Dems Offer Smaller Step Toward ‘Medicare For All'
“This is something that is not pie in the sky or aspirational,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), a co-sponsor of the buy-in bill. “This is a piece of legislation where you could turn the switch on overnight.” The measure was introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Reps. Courtney, Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) and John Larson (D-Conn.). Meanwhile, progressive House Democrats are preparing their Medicare for all bill, which would largely eliminate the private insurance industry and move everyone into a single-payer, government-run system. (Hellmann, 2/13)
Detroit Free Press: Stabenow Wants Medicare Coverage For People 50 And Over
[Sen. Debbie] Stabenow, called it "an effort that could both be implemented right away … and has a lot of support and enthusiasm in the country." Stabenow has pushed similar legislation in the past but it hasn't gone anywhere. It still faces long odds in the Senate, which is controlled by a Republican majority, but a companion bill in the House has better odds this time around." (Spangler, 2/13)
CQ: Democrats Seek Medicare Expansion As Liberals Push Big Overhaul
Democrats behind the Medicare buy-in proposal don’t believe there is a tension between their approach and the push for a single-payer system. But they say their proposal is an alternative that is both workable and necessary, and wouldn’t require the same kind of drastic changes required for a broader overhaul. (Siddons and McINire, 2/13)
Detroit Free Press: What Medicare For All Might Look Like If It Happened
The concept of expanding Medicare coverage to not only seniors and disabled people but just about everyone, has recently shot up in popularity among Democrats and party activists at the national level. Among proponents of so-called Medicare for All, there are varying ideas for how such a government-paid and government-administered health insurance system would work and how exactly it would affect patients, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies. (Reindl, 2/14)
