Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Maybe Being Vague Is Really OK At This Point On Medicare For All Vs. Everything Else
The Washington Post: How Deep Are The Differences Among Democrats On Health Care?
Some time ago, I began referring to emerging alternatives to Medicare-for-all as “Medicare For All (Who Want It)." It seemed like a good way to describe the voluntary public-option plans being developed in response to reservations about single-payer plans. Pete Buttigieg seems to have come to the same conclusion, because his newly unveiled health-care plan is called Medicare for All Who Want It. (I guess those parentheses just got in the way.) (Paul Waldman, 9/19)
The New York Times: Is America’s Health Care System A Fixer-Upper Or A Teardown?
Imagine the United States health care system as a sort of weird old house. There are various wings, added at different points in history, featuring different architectural styles. Maybe you pass through a wardrobe and there’s a surprise bedroom on the other side, if not Narnia. Some parts are really run down. In some places, the roof is leaking or there are some other minor structural flaws. It’s also too small for everyone to live in. But even if architecturally incoherent and a bit leaky, it still works. No one would rather be homeless than live in the house. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 9/19)
The Washington Post: Pete Buttigieg: Here’s A Better Way To Do Medicare-For-All
Earlier this year, I lost my father to cancer. I make decisions for a living, but nothing could have prepared me for the kind of decisions our family faced as his illness grew more serious. But as challenging as that time was for my family, one thing we did not have to worry about was whether his illness would bankrupt our family. Because he was covered by Medicare, we were free to focus on what mattered most. (Pete Buttigieg, 9/19)
