Elizabeth Warren Vows to Expand Health Coverage in First 100 Days, MFA to take up to 3 years

[BeyondGeography]

WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren vowed on Friday to pass major health care legislation in her first 100 days as president, unveiling a new, detailed plan to significantly expand public health insurance coverage as a first step, and promising to pass a “Medicare for all” system that would cover all Americans by the end of her third year in office.

The initial bill she would seek to pass if elected would be a step short of the broader Medicare for all plan she has championed. But it would substantially expand the reach and generosity of public health insurance, creating a government plan that would offer free coverage to all American children and people earning less than double the federal poverty rate, or about $50,000 for a family of four, and could be purchased by other Americans who want it.

Ms. Warren, of Massachusetts, set a timeline of passing a full Medicare for all plan no later than the third year of her presidency, creating a single government-run health insurance program that would provide generous benefits at virtually no cost to households. But her transition proposal would move people into that system gradually — in a way she hopes would build public support for a full-fledged single-payer program — while temporarily preserving the employer-based insurance system that covers most working-age adults today.

Though the details differ, the transition plan shares many features with health proposals from more her more moderate rivals for the nomination, including Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president, and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind. For example, it would allow higher-income adults to voluntarily sign up for a new public plan. Ms. Warren’s plan, however, would make the optional government plan more generous, and would allow more Americans to access it for free.

Her plan attempts to offer something attractive to both sides of the Democratic health care debate, by preserving her commitment to the single-payer vision that energizes voters on the left, while offering a less disruptive set of policies in the short term to those who may be reluctant to give up their existing coverage.

It also reflects a sense of pragmatism about the politics and logistics of passing a major health bill through a closely divided Congress. Ms. Warren says she would pass the transition plan using special procedures that would require only a simple majority in the Senate, rather than the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster...

More at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-medicare-for-all-100-days.html

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[crazytown]

1. Clever.

M4A for children & families under $50,000 is a transition arrangement. Immediate coverage for the poor.

[Freddie]

2. I like it

A transition plan is needed.