During the 2020 election cycle, Harris's agenda included promoting the single-payer option and eliminating private insurance.
Even though Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) continues to support this idea, Harris stated that she will back off supporting this, at least for now.
Talking Points…
- Single-payer insurance coverage, or Medicare for All
- Harris backs down
- Analysis
Going back to the 2016 presidential election, Medicare-for-All has been a hot topic in this country. Senator Sanders first started this push to edge the country more toward socialism. The policy was fought against by most Republicans and some Democrats.
If this were installed, all healthcare would be provided via a single entity, in this case, the United States government. This system is in place in countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, but the United States has always preferred to allow its citizens to choose their own coverage.
Harris, during the 2020 election cycle, had been asked about this type of coverage, and she was all-in at the time, responding (she also had it featured on her website):
"I'm glad you asked. Yeah. So, the bottom line and the most important is that everyone have access to health care. That is the goal. That is the purpose for me supporting the policy of 'Medicare-for-all.'
"If Congress votes in a way that reflects the values and desires of the American people, then Congress will vote for a policy that gives everyone access to health care."
She further stated that she would back this plan because it was "popular," adding:
"'Medicare-for-all' will cover all medically necessary services, including emergency room visits, doctor visits, vision, dental, hearing aids, mental health, and substance-use disorder treatment, and comprehensive reproductive health care services.
"It will also allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices."
Health insurance is always a hot potato when it comes to elections. And it will be again this year because I am sure Trump will say that he wants to end Obamacare (there are already numerous Republicans who have stated they would not support him, which means Trump will likely fail on this promise).
Harris now seems content to leave Obamacare in place. Harris has not really touched on this, and since her website still does not have policies listed three weeks after getting the nod, we do not have her formal position. However, Harris's office was asked where she stands on this go-around, and her office stated that she would not be seeking to push Medicare-for-All, likely because she wants to leave Obama's legacy program in place (and I would wager that was a condition of his endorsement).
Congress has already made it quite clear that Obamacare is not going to go anywhere. Trump tried to fight it in court when he was in office and while he was able to chip away at some policies regarding Obamacare, such as the penalties, he was unable to end the program. For Harris to mess with the program would be foolish at this point.
If I were Trump, I would not really push for ending Obamacare because, as awful as most of us believe it to be, there is really nothing that he can do about it. As I noted, there are more than a few Republicans who do not want to end the program, so Trump would be making a promise he would be unable to deliver. He would be far better off saying that they will look at the program and try to make improvements to lower overall costs for taxpayers, which is reasonable, and I think that would play far better with both sides of the aisle.
