Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Harris' Shifting Position On 'Medicare For All' In Spotlight
Politico: What Kamala Harris Believes: Key Issues, Policy Positions And Votes
A former California attorney general and district attorney, Harris faced criticism over a prosecutorial record that doesn’t always match with the progressive positions she espouses today. On health care, her waffling on “Medicare for All” during the presidential primary revealed a candidate torn between appealing to progressives demanding structural change and moderates favoring incrementalism — and satisfying none in the process. Here are major policy fights that have shaped Harris’ political rise. (Cancryn and Marinucci, 8/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Kamala Harris, Biden Differed On Trade, Medicare For All. Here’s A Guide To Their Positions.
Ms. Harris signed onto Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill in the Senate. But during her presidential campaign, she tried to find a middle ground between backers of single-payer health care and those who prefer the current system, proposing a government-run health care system that would maintain a limited role for private health plans. Mr. Biden’s plan would expand on Obamacare by offering all Americans a public insurance option. He opposes a Medicare for All system, but he proposed lowering the Medicare age to 60 from 65. (Collins, 8/12)
Self: Where Kamala Harris Stands On 5 Crucial Health Issues
This week, former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, selected Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. Harris, a former California attorney general, is the first Black woman and the first South Asian American woman to be named a vice presidential candidate by a major party in the U.S. Here’s where Harris stands on a few key health issues today. (Jacoby, 8/12)
In other election news —
The Washington Post: Trump, House Republicans Embrace Candidate Who Believe In QAnon And Has Made Racist Statements
President Trump and Republican leaders’ embrace of a House candidate who has made racist statements and espoused the QAnon conspiracy theory is again highlighting the party’s willingness to tolerate extreme and bigoted positions. Trump on Wednesday tweeted that Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her Georgia primary Tuesday evening, was a “future Republican Star,” who was “strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!” The office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — who ignored multiple pleas from his members to wade into the primary to stop Greene — has said that he will seat her on congressional committees. (Bade and Stanley-Becker, 8/12)
Boston.com: Ed Markey And Joe Kennedy Spar Over Who Has Led Fight For Medicare-For-All
Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy both agree that the Democratic Party needs a “big, bold agenda.” They just disagree about who’s leading it. During the fifth — and perhaps most fiery — debate of their Senate primary contest Tuesday night, the two Massachusetts Democrats clashed over everything from racial justice to campaign finance. However, it was the issue that Democratic voters have often said they care about most, health care, where the two candidates’ interpretations of reality also notably diverged. (DeCosta-Klipa, 8/12)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Senate: Perdue’s New Ad Features A Pre-Existing Condition Pledge
U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s latest ad opens with a direct-to-camera assertion from the Republican: “Health insurance should always cover pre-existing conditions for anyone. Period.” It’s his latest attempt to play to the middle of the electorate in a tight race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. Libertarian Shane Hazel is also in the contest. (Bluestein, 8/13)
