“I, Pete Buttigieg, politician, do henceforth and forthwith declare, most affirmatively and indubitably, unto the ages, that I do favor Medicare for All, as I do favor any measure that would help get all Americans covered.”
— Mayor Pete Buttigieg, responding to activists on Twitter, February 18, 2018.
“Elizabeth Warren’s campaign said that it is studying a range of options for paying for ‘Medicare for All,’ leaving open the possibility that the presidential candidate may ultimately diverge from Sen. Bernie Sanders on how his sweeping health care plan — which Warren has endorsed — would be paid for,” CNN reports.
Pete Buttigieg has continued his criticism of Sen. Elizabeth Warren after last night’s debate, saying she has been “more specific and forthcoming about the number of selfies she’s taken” than about how she would pay for “Medicare for All,” CNN reports.
It’s a shift in strategy for the mayor who largely avoided attacking his rivals.
In fact, back in February, Buttigieg told MSNBC that Medicare for All is the “compromise position” since it’s a public payer and private doctors. Now, he’s running attack ads against the plan calling it “polarizing.”
Associated Press: “For the second consecutive debate, Warren refused to say whether middle-class Americans would pay higher taxes under her proposed “Medicare for All” plan. It was a glaring dodge for a candidate who has risen to the top of the Democratic field by unveiling detailed policy proposals and selling them with a folksy flair.”
“And it was one of nearly half a dozen issues on which Warren found herself defending the broad ambition she has laid out to remake the American economy and rebalance the nation’s wealth. More moderate candidates, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, cast Warren as unrealistic and vague.”
“How Warren handles that criticism, which was abundant Tuesday and is likely to escalate in the coming weeks, will be a central test of whether she can maintain her standing.”
“I think it’s a terrible mistake if the Democratic nominee would publicly support Medicare for All.”
— Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), quoted by CNN, urging Democratic candidates to focus on improving the Affordable Care Act instead.
A new CBS News poll finds 56% of Americans think providing access to affordable health care coverage for all Americans is the responsibility of the federal government, and 66% favor the creation of a national, government-administered health insurance plan similar to Medicare that would be available to all Americans.
“Pete Buttigieg will begin airing a digital ad on Tuesday that calls out rivals Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont by name for their support of Medicare for All,” CNN reports.
“The ad highlights Buttigieg’s Medicare for All Who Want It health care plan, a middle-of-the-road approach that would not force people onto government health coverage but would offer a public option for people who choose to enroll. That is a key distinction between Buttigieg’s plan and the sweeping overhaul that would be instituted under a full Medicare for All program.”
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds 95% of Democrats and 61% of independents say they are not confident President Trump will follow through on his promises to propose a new health care plan. In fact, just 37% of those polled were even aware that Trump had promised to release a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.
However, 81% of Republicans are somewhat or very confident Trump will deliver on his health care promises.
“President Trump may be telling voters everything that they want to hear when it comes to health care, but much of it isn’t true,” Axios reports.
“Trump is claiming victories he hasn’t achieved and making promises he’s not prepared to live up to, all on an immensely personal subject that that voters consistently rank as one of the most important issues of 2020.”
Wall Street Journal: “The political drift of physicians accelerated in 2016, when Donald Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination.”
“Many physicians say they were uneasy about Republicans’ health policy proposals and turned off by Mr. Trump’s stance on scientific issues, such as his skepticism about climate change. Despite having mixed feelings about Obamacare, most physicians say they don’t support Republican lawmakers’ calls to repeal it without a clear replacement since they have already invested in adapting to its mandates, and because repeal could leave millions uninsured.”
Washington Post: “Poor people in Michigan with asthma and diabetes were admitted to the hospital less often after they joined Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. More than 25,000 Ohio smokers got help through the state’s Medicaid expansion that led them to quit. And around the country, patients with advanced kidney disease who went on dialysis were more likely to be alive a year later if they lived in a Medicaid-expansion state.”
“Such findings are part of an emerging mosaic of evidence that, nearly a decade after it became one of the most polarizing health-care laws in U.S. history, the ACA is making some Americans healthier — and less likely to die.”
Axios: “Do a quick search for health insurance, and you’ll find plenty of ads for ‘Trumpcare’ plans that cost $59 or less per month. But there’s a catch: Trumpcare doesn’t exist, and many of these advertised plans offer bare-bones coverage.”
“For people who buy health insurance on their own instead of receiving it through an employer, searching for a plan is already challenging. And deceptive marketing only makes it harder, especially when these plans will leave consumers on the hook for potentially ruinous medical bills.”
“A new poll by a firm linked to Joe Biden is testing messages designed to undercut support among Democrats for Medicare for All, one of the most contentious issues splitting the party’s top presidential contenders,” Bloomberg reports.
“The survey, commissioned by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, found that primary voters start off favoring the government-run health care system by a margin of 79% to 21%, but can be persuaded to oppose it. The study showed that Democrats are most swayed by the arguments that the program would impose a heavy cost on taxpayers and threaten Medicare for senior citizens.”
Randi Weingarten: The false choice over Medicare for All.
“Conservative leaders are circulating data to White House staff that claims adults who vape will turn on President Trump if he follows through with his planned ban on flavored e-cigarettes,” Axios reports..
“The data reveals that the number of adult vapers in key battleground states greatly outweighs the margins by which Trump won those states in 2016 — and they argue it could cost him reelection.”
“Senate Republicans are warning Speaker Nancy Pelosi that her much-anticipated drug pricing plan is dead and will not be considered in the Senate,” Politico reports.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ruled out any action on the bill: “Socialist price controls will do a lot of left-wing damage to the healthcare system. And of course we’re not going to be calling up a bill like that.”
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi rolled out her much anticipated drug pricing plan today, calling for Medicare to negotiate prices on at least 25 medicines, with an option for commercial insurers to take advantage of the deals,” Politico reports.
“The plan is less ambitious than an outline of the bill, H.R. 3, that was leaked last week. Earlier discussions envisioned mandating that 250 drugs be subject to negotiations each year. Instead, 250 would be the ceiling rather than the floor, likely disappointing progressives. The government would be directed to target drugs that account for the highest costs to Medicare and the entire U.S. health care system, taking into account both the price of medicines and the volume sold in the U.S.”
Playbook: “House Republican leaders are already calling this socialism.”
“Pete Buttigieg on Thursday unveiled his plan to reform the U.S. healthcare system by offering everyone coverage under the federal Medicare program, but not forcing people to give up private heath insurance plans,” Reuters reports.
Vox: “The plan is more modest than what the most progressive candidates and voters support, which would be a single-payer system similar to Canada and Taiwan. But the Buttigieg plan is still ambitious and reflects the leftward shift of the Democratic mainstream: the more moderate candidates aren’t willing to scrap private coverage entirely, but they are still pushing for a much larger government role in providing health care to Americans.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNBC that Democrats should focus on making improvements to the Affordable Care Act instead of pushing to introduce “Medicare for All.”
Said Pelosi: “God bless 2020 Democratic presidential candidates putting forth Medicare for All proposals, but know what that entails. I believe the path to ‘health care for all’ is a path following the lead of the Affordable Care Act. Let’s use our energy to have health care for all Americans, and that involves over 150 million families that have it through the private sector.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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