On Tuesday night in the first of the two debates, a lot of time was spent discussing Medicare-For-All (a government-run, single-payer health insurance system). The biggest supporters were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the leading voices against MFA were Tim Ryan and John Delaney. Sadly though, this was just a lot of wasted time, because the debate over Medicare-For-All is a moot one.
Don't get me wrong. I support our nation eventually moving to a government-run, single-payer system (like Medicare-For-All). But it is not going to happen anytime soon -- even if Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren is elected president in the 2020 election.
Why? Because it would require the support (and votes) of a clear majority in the House of Representatives and at least 60 senators in the Senate. I think there's a good chance that Democrats will hold their majority in the House and squeak out a slim majority in the Senate. But even if that happens, there won't be enough votes to pass Medicare-For-All. Even if the bill could get approved in the House, there's no way it could get 60 votes in the Senate.
But while that debate was a waste of time, the idea of improving our health care system is not -- and it's something the American voters want. And if Democrats do control both houses of Congress and the White House, that could be done. A bill could pass that would fix some of the problems with Obamacare and also create a public option health insurance (the first step toward MFA) that citizens could buy into -- and which would insure all American citizens have health insurance.
And there is no doubt in my mind that any of the Democratic candidates for president would sign such a bill -- even Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. So don't support a candidate because they support or oppose Medicare-For-All. Just understand that all of them would work to improve our health care system.
Let us instead get down to the most important issue (maybe the only real issue for 2020) -- nominating the candidate who has the best chance to beat Donald Trump.
NOTE -- If you think that sounds like I support Biden, you would be wrong. Currently, I am leaning toward Elizabeth Warren -- not because she supports Medicare-For-All, but because she supports a whole range of policies that would improve the lives of the bottom 90% of Americans ( and even the economic playing field, which is currently slanted to favor the rich).
The more discussion and debate there is now over single-payer, the easier it may be to get there eventually. By having so many candidates talking about it, the public may begin to view it as less radical. I see little reason the U.S. must be the only Western democracy that doesn't ever make it to a single-payer system. It won't happen now, but I don't think that makes talking about it a waster of time.
ReplyDeleteThe American Medical Mafia is 20% of the US GDP. They own the government. The other word for fascism is corporatism.
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