With Medicare-For-More Argument, Clinton Shifts Left On Health Care
As Hillary Clinton looks to wrap up the Democratic presidential primary, she is floating the idea of a Medicare buy-in option for those in their 50s.
The New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Takes A Step To The Left On Health Care
For months during the Democratic presidential nominating contest, Hillary Clinton has resisted calls from Senator Bernie Sanders to back a single-payer health system, arguing that the fight for government-run health care was a wrenching legislative battle that had already been lost. But as she tries to clinch the nomination, Mrs. Clinton is moving to the left on health care and this week took a significant step in her opponent’s direction, suggesting she would like to give people the option to buy into Medicare. (Rappeport and Sanger-Katz, 5/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hillary Clinton Says She’s Weighing Medicare For 50-Year-Olds
Hillary Clinton has spent months berating rival Bernie Sanders for proposing a single-payer, government-run health-care plan, sticking to her more modest proposals aimed at lowering costs and saying she has no interest in another nasty legislative battle over health care. Now, as she tries to close out her primary contest against the Vermont senator, she is floating a new idea: allowing people as young as 50 to buy into Medicare, the health plan that serves those ages 65 and up. (Meckler, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Clinton Suggests Letting People In Their 50s Buy Into Medicare
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unexpectedly floated the idea Monday of letting people in their 50s buy into Medicare as an alternative to her previous proposal to let states establish public health insurance plans to compete with private insurers. (Meyer, 5/10)
In other news, KHN has the first in a video series about candidates' ideas that sound good in theory, but might not work —
Kaiser Health News:
Sounds Like A Good Idea? Selling Insurance Across State Lines
Presidential candidates like to propose solutions to long-standing problems. Health care is no exception. But there’s a reason some problems are “long-standing.” They may have no easy solution. Or the solution is not politically feasible. Or there’s a solution that sounds good on the campaign trail but is not likely to actually work.In this first of a series of videos of health policy promises that “sound like a good idea,” Julie Rovner explores why increasing competition in health insurance by allowing sales of policies across state lines might not be such a good idea after all. (5/11)
