Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Focus On ACA Or Go All In For 'Medicare For All'? Democrats Divided Over Path To Take On Health Care
The Wall Street Journal: Some Democrats Want Medicare For All. Others Aren’t So Sure
Shortly after her primary victory in New York, Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared her goal of giving Medicare to all Americans. Some fellow Democrats like Ken Harbaugh aren’t convinced. The Navy veteran, who is challenging Rep. Bob Gibbs (R., Ohio), says the party should focus on bolstering the Affordable Care Act, not starting from scratch with Medicare for All. “We need a much quicker fix, which is shoring up the ACA,” he said. (Armour, 10/4)
The Washington Post Fact Checker: GOP Ads Falsely Depict Democrats As Supporters Of Sanders’s Health Plan
With a sick child on the couch, holding a teddy bear, a mother calls to make a doctor’s appointment. She pulls out her health-insurance card and then with her voice breaking, says: “What do you mean you don’t take that anymore? But it’s through my work.” The ad, via the National Republican Campaign Committee, concludes by claiming that the Democratic candidate, Xochitl Torres Small, “takes from us to give it all to Washington.” (Kessler, 10/4)
Denver Post: Colorado Governor Candidates On Health Care
One of [U.S. Rep. Jared] Polis’ marquee campaign promises has been establishing universal coverage for Coloradans. A longtime supporter of “Medicare for all,” Polis is among a handful of Democrats across the country running on such a promise. The Democrat has also released a bevy of additional proposals, including a 100-day health care road map for the first year in office. The [state Treasurer Walker] Stapleton campaign’s ambitions have been more tempered. The Republican issued three priorities for health care, including seeking a federal waiver to allow insurance companies to sell plans inside Colorado that would only cover “catastrophic” events. (Garcia and Seaman, 10/3)
