Schumer says he's for the "best and the cheapest" healthcare for Americans.

[Magoo48]

Medicare for all will provide the best and the cheapest healthcare for Americans. So why fucking dance around it? Simply come out and support what the majority of Americans already do. I’m more and more convinced that the Senate is a vestigial structure and a boil upon the ass of progress.

https://truthout.org/articles/chuck-schumer-refuses-to-endorse-medicare-for-all/

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Caught that earlier.

Chuckie just lost a ton of support. He must have gotten a call from his Corporate Donor.

[pnwmom]

2. First you set the stage. THEN you bring the actors on. n/t

[WeekiWater]

3. Medicare for all might not be the universal health care legislation that makes it.

It's not the only option out there. I don't see why it's so upsetting that he doesn't endorse something now that might not be what makes it in the end. He wouldn't endorse single payer. I am for single payer but am not upset at him for his position here. He made it clear he wants everyone covered. I like medicare for all but none of us know what that will look like once opened up. There are enormous variables. I find those stating that is the the best and cheapest to be using a bit of slight of hand in order to sell what they want. If we are going to do medicare for all it needs to be drastically overhauled and that overhaul will mean a lot more expenses. Right now medicare leaves far too much out and comes with what could be considered regressive taxes in order to fill gaps.

“Does Chuck know that free is the cheapest?” asked The Intercept’s Michael Whitney, alluding to the fact that Sanders’ Medicare for All plan would eliminate premiums, co-pays, and deductibles while providing comprehensive coverage to every American.

I find that to be far more offensive than anything Shumer said.

[NewJeffCT]

4. Schumer dances around everything

as do many Democrats. Lawyers tend to couch their words.

[zipplewrath]

5. He sees a process

He isn't trying to work to the final goal right now. He sees a process where more and more people are included in a Medicare like system, over time. Quite honestly, I think that's probably going to have to be the way it happens so that the system is given time to "adjust". I was thinking once that the quickest way to this was to start with the 18 year olds. Every 5 years or so you increase the age limit until it become obvious where it is all going.

[northoftheborder]

6. Medicare is not free -- premiums are taken out of my S.S. each month..

Medicare For All would have to have another method for payment of premiums for those not on Social Security yet; I don't think totally free health care is realistic or achievable. There are a lot of plans out there which have been discussed over and over for years, which are better than ACA. It's just what can we get passed into law that is the problem.

[still_one]

7. I suspect some folks talking Medicare for all do not realize that it costs, and to get fully covered

they would need a supplemental plan or advantage plan, and they may not realize depending what they choose where they go for treatment might be limited

[Volaris]

8. I might be misunderstanding this, and if i am please enlighten me:

I pay the Medicaid tax out of my paychecks, to fund Medicaid that I don't use yet (to make sure it's paid for).
They can charge me an extra hundred bucks a month on the same tax, and in exchange I can access basic healthcare/ins services.

What did I miss?

[Magoo48]

12. Who suggested Medicare is free? And, single payer would come out of tax revenue.

Yet, what we have now is smothering and punishing great swaths of society.

[maxrandb]

9. Ummmm, Pelosi is NOT the problem n/t

[kacekwl]

10. I saw that interview and

I thought he was very good and slamming trump and answering the healthcare question. Let's get a plan together for healthcare ( I would prefer some type of Medicare for all) but until a sound plan is presented you have to be somewhat cagey to keep all options open.

[GulfCoast66]

11. I support universal healthcare care. But am against Medicare for all.

Mainly because it’s cost have never been shown. And we can’t seriously consider studies that show societal savings rather than government outlays and how to pay for it. I agree it would save society tremendously. But no one has even tried to show how to fill the government coffers enough to pay for it.

But the largest barrier is the 50% who get their healthcare from their employer. They will not vote for a party pushing a plan that removes their coverage regardless of the rosy scenarios often given.

Instead, greatly expand the ACA, make insurance nonprofit, keep employers on the hook and use increased marginal tax rates to provide coverage for those without. It’s not rocket science. This is the way many Western European nations did it.

And until we cut our ridiculous military spending there will never be enough money to take care of the people.

[Buckeyeblue]

13. To get cheaper insurance you have to bring down the cost of healthcare

The absurdity of healthcare is that there isn't one cost. The costs of procedures and tests vary depending on what the insurance company has negotiated. A big part of that cost is the administrative overhead. The hoops that offices (doctors) have to go through to get authorizations for some insurances (not all) is crazy, because insurance companies want doctors to try the cheapest treatments first.

So in order to come up with a truly affordable healthcare option, we have to come up with a way to drive down the overall costs.

The trick would be coming up with a plan that is administratively simple, while being attractive enough that it will gain widespread popularity to get high enrollment rates. Insurance is a numbers game. Even if you were non-profit, it's still a numbers game. This is the approach ACA takes--but we haven't given it enough time to see the overall benefit of having everyone covered to drive down overall costs (and without the individual mandate, we won't see this).

While my employer has decent coverage options, I would prefer an option outside of my employer. That way if I decide to switch employers I don't have to deal with having to change insurances too. I think this would make it possible for more people to start their own businesses.