Warren tries to go on offense with $20.5 trillion Medicare for All plan

Source: Politico | November 1, 2019 | Alice Miranda Ollstein and Alex Thompson

Elizabeth Warren unveiled her long-awaited plan Friday to raise the $20.5 trillion she says is needed to pay for single-payer health care in America.

The proposal represents Warren’s attempt to put the issue to rest after weeks of questions from rival candidates and debate moderators about how much it would cost and who may be on the hook for higher taxes. She vowed, as she has in the past, that “not one penny in middle-class tax increases” is necessary to finance the effort.

The plan relies on an expected mix of tax hikes on the wealthy, deep cuts to military spending and payments to doctors, projected savings from a more streamlined national system, payments from employers who would no longer have to provide health care to their workers and — the heaviest lift — comprehensive immigration reform. The proposal was outlined and evaluated for the campaign by several prominent economists and former government officials.

“Medicare for All puts all health care on the government’s books. But Medicare for All is about the same price as our current path — and cheaper over time,” Warren argued, saying her plan would cost about $52 trillion over 10 years, compared to the $59 trillion projected if the U.S. health system remained the same. “That means the debate isn’t really about whether the United States should pay more or less. It’s about who should pay.”

But Warren’s new proposal, first reported by Fox News, is the most complete attempt yet by a candidate to flesh out a broad concept first proposed by Bernie Sanders and later embraced by Warren and several Democratic presidential hopefuls. It also goes beyond suggesting how to pay for abolishing all private insurance and putting hundreds of millions of people on a government plan. Because Sanders’ bill lacked key details that determine how much the overall system will cost — such as how much physicians, hospitals, and drug companies would be paid — Warren is proposing these details herself.

The most sweeping and controversial piece of her additions to Sanders’ bill is a pledge to pay most physicians current Medicare rates — which are much lower than private insurance rates but higher than Medicaid — and to pay hospitals slightly above Medicare rates. She argues that doctors will save money overall because they’ll be able to dedicate the hours they currently spend billing a swath of interlocking private and public insurance plans to providing care.

But medical providers who are already mobilizing against Medicare for All are likely to take this as a declaration of war.

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  • Consistent November 1, 2019 at 11:16 am #33103

    Consistent November 1, 2019 at 11:17 am #33104

    Consistent November 1, 2019 at 11:18 am #33105

    Consistent November 1, 2019 at 11:20 am #33106

    EVERYDAY November 1, 2019 at 1:10 pm #33108

    The rich are going to pay for Medicare for All. Yeah, right.

    First of all, how is the word “rich” going to be defined? I’m willing to bet that the word will mean anyone with a job and/or a home.

    And the “rich” will likely include corporations and even small businesses. Increase taxes on business and sooner or later, there will be a loss of jobs.

    With this scheme, I can also see a shortage of doctors coming. Who will want to practice medicine if the compensation is drastically reduced? Where I live, I have plenty of doctors, but in many communities doctors are scarce now. If this scheme is implemented, expect to see even fewer doctors.

    And will care be rationed? I expect with fewer doctors, rationing of services will have to be. In fact, if government is given full power over our health care under this scheme, expect some government bean counter to decide whether you should have that life-saving surgery — not you and your doctor.

    Military cuts? Yeah, wonderful. Socialist/communist Democrats hate the military, but without it, we are defenseless. And however these snowflakes might wish otherwise, we do have enemies out to destroy us. We need a strong military to defend us against these enemies.

    All in all, Medicare for All is a bad idea. Sadly though I see it becoming a reality. Too many voters want it and I don’t trust Republicans to fight against it either.

    Consistent November 1, 2019 at 7:22 pm #33112

    Consistent November 1, 2019 at 7:27 pm #33113

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