Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Tout $2 Trillion In Savings From 'Medicare For All,' But Author Of Cost Analysis Cries Foul
The Washington Post Fact Checker: Democrats Seize On Cherry-Picked Claim That ‘Medicare-For-All’ Would Save $2 Trillion
As our colleague David Weigel reported, Democrats have latched onto the catchy idea of “Medicare-for-all” (also known as M4A) as a way of expressing their support for universal health care. On July 30, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released a working paper on the 10-year fiscal impact of the Medicare-for-all plan sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The report was written by Charles Blahous, a former economic adviser to George W. Bush and a public trustee for Social Security and Medicare from 2010 through 2015. (Kessler, 8/7)
Meanwhile —
Kaiser Health News: Once Its Greatest Foes, Doctors Are Embracing Single-Payer
When the American Medical Association — one of the nation’s most powerful health care groups — met in Chicago this June, its medical student caucus seized an opportunity for change. Though they had tried for years to advance a resolution calling on the organization to drop its decades-long opposition to single-payer health care, this was the first time it got a full hearing. The debate grew heated — older physicians warned their pay would decrease, calling younger advocates naïve to single-payer’s consequences. But this time, by the meeting’s end, the AMA’s older members had agreed to at least study the possibility of changing its stance. (Luthra, 8/7)
