Bernie hits back at Biden on Medicare For All

[Otto Lidenbrock]

Atkinson, New Hampshire (CNN) — Bernie Sanders on Saturday accused former Vice President Joe Biden of using "misinformation" to attack the Vermont senator's "Medicare for All" proposal, further escalating an emerging battle among leading Democratic presidential candidates over health care policy.

During a two-day New Hampshire swing on Friday and Saturday, Biden repeatedly criticized other leading 2020 contenders' push to largely abandon private insurance and enroll all Americans in Medicare.

Instead, Biden said, he favors expanding former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act to allow Americans the option of buying into such a system -- but retaining private insurance for those who are already covered.

"I don't want to start over," he said Friday in Dover. "How many of you out there have had someone you've lost to cancer? Or cancer yourself? No time, man. We cannot have a hiatus of six months, a year, two, three, to get something done. People desperately need help now."

Sanders seized on those comments, arguing in a statement his campaign released Saturday that under his proposal, there would be no gap in coverage as Americans transition into Medicare for All over four years.

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/07/13/politics/bernie-sanders-joe-biden-medicare-for-all-misinformation/index.html?

Link to tweet

Have to say it's pretty ironic that cries of misinformation is coming from the Sanders staff. That has been their MO against other candidates..."#kamalaisacop, "Nothing will fundamentally change"...oh and Hillary being attacked for a crime bill she had no participation towards, but one he voted for.

[Me.]

1. And Still He's Losing

[Politicub]

2. While noble, the only way to achieve Bernie's MFA vision is to capture a lot more than a majority in

both houses of congress. He needs a lot of votes for such a gargantuan undertaking. There are going to be moderate democrats who will not vote for MFA, and he will need votes to cancel out the no votes.

I want to see the country get to a single-payer system. Biden's approach seems like a slower path to get there, though it is more politically tenable.

[sheshe2]

10. +1000

I want the path we can achieve now. ACA was always meant to be expanded on. Build from that base up and do not tear down a foundation to start anew with something that could take years to achieve.

How do we pay for this? Simply stating that Wall Street will pay for it is not a plan. With out a Democratic Senate and President to join our Congressional majority these are just dreams.

[Cha]

13. Exactly right, she..

Thank you!

[sheshe2]

21. Hey, Cha.

You are welcome.

[Politicub]

15. I'm a huge advocate for the ACA. I have an exchange plan now and it works great for me.

I think there are a lot of people who would like the opportunity to buy into a public option. I would, most likely, since the public option wouldn't have the same overhead that private insurers have.

The ACA was always designed to be a platform on which to build. It's one of Obama's most amazing accomplishments and I know Biden will be a good steward of it.

[sheshe2]

20. I was on ACA for about a year.

I lost my job and my whole unemployment check would have gone to COBRA, $600 a month. MA through Tufts offered me a great plan that suited my needs for the time. It was less than a hundred dollars a month. A year later with no job and being over 65 I was eligible for Medicare.

Yes it was meant as a stepping stone since we did not have the votes to make it stronger. It was a good stepping stone with no pre-existing conditions, because fact is being a woman is one of those conditions.

So glad it has helped you out, Politicub.

[Thekaspervote]

27. Thank you for your sensible post

[sheshe2]

28. ...

[qazplm135]

12. exactly...aspirational is nice

but to win you need plans that actually have a chance of passing and working.

The public option will SHOW people what expanded medicare can do. It will ENTICE people to join it and in not too long a time you will HAVE medicare for all.

[Cha]

3. Bernie Sanders opposes House bill to strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/128739743#top

Link to tweet

[George II]

5. Wow, when BS loses Chris Hayes he's in deep trouble.

[George II]

4. Biden is correct. ANY form of Medicare required the participation of private insurance companies....

Today's Medicare would collapse if the private companies weren't involved. They current administer a big part of Medicare as a sort of "sub-contractor" for the government.

BS hasn't presented any specific, concrete details on how his plan would be administered or funded.

Funny thing, I see on his website he doesn't even call it "Medicare for All", but "Health Care for All". Wonder why?

https://berniesanders.com/issues/health-care-for-all/

[Cha]

6. Yeah, Biden is right..

So who's "..spreading misinformation.."?

[sheshe2]

11. I just posted about this here.

[R B Garr]

14. Thank you. Is it anti-union for anyone to advocate taking our

union benefits away? Like Biden said, hard-fought union benefits. We’re not interested in being pawns for some politician’s vanity issues. Protect unions!

[murielm99]

7. Legislation?

Does Bernie have legislation?

[Otto Lidenbrock]

8. Update: He's going to give a big speech on the matter

Link to tweet

[peggysue2]

9. So, there would be no gap in coverage

How and why? Or are we to believe that Medicare4All will float from the sky fully formed, ready to go without a hiccup? This is where the Senator from Vermont always loses me. The idea is one thing; the implementation is quite another.

There's a reason Bernie Sanders never wants to talk about the State of Vermont's own experience with Medicare4All/GreenMountaincare. And that's because despite a Governor and electorate all on board with the idea, the program failed because of that dreaded word . . . taxes. Shumlin and his team despite their best efforts could not get the numbers to work without reducing coverage or raising taxes to an onerous level, residential and business alike.

We're all on the same page when it comes to the universal coverage goal. And no, the seriously ill in the realtime cannot afford a gap in coverage. Which is why I support the phase-in position. Offer the public option with what we have now and work towards universal coverage. We can get there but not with unrealistic promises and/or visions of a major shift in healthcare being easy-peasy. It won't be.

[Politicub]

17. For good or for ill, Bernie's MFA concept is revolutionary in scope.

And it's Medicare in name only, really. It's a completely different health system.

The idea is almost utopian (no copay, no cost for drugs, no premiums, etc.). And while there is no utopia, it does capture the imagination about possibilities.

The trouble is, it just doesn't seem to be practical. It's more of a vision looking for a plan.

On the other hand, the ACA is architected to get us to a single payer system over time. It is also proving to be resilient in the face of constant GOP opposition.

Obama knew that full health care justice will take generations to achieve. And universal healthcare is in reach precisely because of the ACA.

[peggysue2]

26. You and I are on the same page

The vision is great, the practicality is a whole other manner.

The ACA despite its limitations and various criticisms has been resilient because God knows it's been savaged by the Republicans from Day 1. The main lesson Shumlin took away from his effort was the absolute necessity of forcing medical costs down and getting a grip on pharmaceutical pricing. He and his team came to the conclusion that without those first cost-reduction steps, vast change/expansion was simply not possible. Not without raising taxes through the roof. And though Sanders doesn't like to admit it, Americans hate, hate, hate taxes. It's written into our national DNA. We fought a revolution over taxes for crying out loud!

Universal healthcare is the ultimate goal. We need to keep our eye on that goal while pushing the necessary pieces into place to accomplish just that.

[Cha]

38. Bernie Sanders opposes House bill to strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/128739743#top

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

I'm not impressed with BS' "vision".

[Cha]

40. P.S. Peggysue..

Link to tweet

[peggysue2]

41. Back at you, Cha!

The ACA deserves the defense it's getting because it's our best vehicle to improve healthcare and increase the number of people with access to healthcare services. Implementing a public option is a first step on the road to universal healthcare for every American. It's not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick but it's doable.

Glad to hear our Dem AGs are on the frontline.

[Cha]

42. Frontline Dems!

[OilemFirchen]

30. Revolutionary?

(Teddy) Roosevelt, president from 1901 to 1909, ran as the Progressive Party candidate in 1912, having abandoned the Republican Party after feuding with the man he'd picked to succeed him, William Howard Taft. The Progressive platform called for "the protection of home life against the hazards of sickness, irregular employment and old age through the adoption of a system of social insurance adapted to American use."

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33485431/ns/health-health_care/t/fact-or-fiction-health-care-was-roosevelts-idea/

[Politicub]

35. It's taken so long to get the meager programs that we have

And we have a long way to go.

I was saying Sanders’ vision is revolutionary because it is a wholesale reimagining of the healthcare system. He just calls it Medicare.

All of the candidates stand on the shoulders of giants. Your post is a good reminder for me to keep that in mind.

[Cha]

37. President Obama got it done.. strong Foundation to Build On..

Link to tweet

Bernie Sanders opposes House bill to strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/128739743#top

Link to tweet

[Victory_Minded]

16. Sanders is right, Biden is wrong

I really think Biden is making a politically miscalculation when it comes to the healthcare debate. He isn't where most of the party primary voters are on this issue.

Of course, he is trying to offset Warren's rise and that is why he is engaging Sanders politically.

I just don't see how it works out for him in the end.

[Otto Lidenbrock]

18. Beto, Buttigieg, Bennet, Hickenlooper, Kloubachar, Inslee, Delaney

Also prefer a public option. The idea that it gets to a stage where most people prefer to opt in that the transition to M4A happens naturally rather than a ripping up of the mechanics in place and removing private insurance as a choice.

[brooklynite]

19. "He isn't where most of the party primary voters are"

Too bad they let Republicans and Independents vote in the General Election, right?

[Victory_Minded]

23. This is the primary though

Not the general election. Biden (or any of these candidates) has to win the nomination first. He has to win among Democratic primary voters. He hasn't got to the general election yet.

Keep in mind too that we embraced the whole establishment, moderate Democrat, supposedly appealable to Republicans and Independents argument in 2016 when we took Clinton over Sanders. How that work out for us?

[George II]

25. Most of the primary voters are in favor of some form of improvement on the ACA or a workable....

"Medicare for All" program, the key word being workable.

BS hasn't done his homework on this issue. He doesn't realize that a big part of the current Medicare program (for 65+) is administered by private insurance companies, it is minimally administered by the federal government. The private companies are set up to handle many aspects of insurance claims, and they do it cheaper than the government would if they did so. It also keeps the monthly Medicare premium down (currently around $125-130) AND the premium for supplemental coverage (currently around $25 per month)

If the private insurance companies were cut out of the deal, both of those premiums would increase tremendously.

The other thing he doesn't realize is that the profit margin of health care insurance is unbelievably low - in the 3-5% range. No ordinary business could survive on that low of a margin.

So, he's underestimating how much of a hand private insurance companies have in the current Medicare program, and he's way overestimating the profits of the health care insurance industry.

Maybe he does know this - that may explain why he hasn't fully detailed his plan?

[GulfCoast66]

34. Really. I do. Because most voters, if only half of Americans...

Get their healthcare from their employer. And are generally happy with it.

If everyone on the stage tells them we have something Better! New! Trust Us! And only poor Joe is arguing for just expanding the ACA slowly over time without disrupting the current system became all Americans deserve healthcare, he will increase his lead. Of course he will not be popular on DU, but we are not who he is playing to.

[Vegas Roller]

22. Bernie is floundering nt

[Victory_Minded]

24. People underestimate Sanders at their own peril

[OilemFirchen]

32. No they don't. (n/t)

[Cha]

46. Thank you.

[Cha]

45. Oh please.

[FloridaBlues]

29. There are several candidates who want MFA and support his stance

Has any of them come out against the plan Biden is proposing or just Bernie?

[comradebillyboy]

31. Biden is right on this issue. Bernie's plan is a fantasy.

[myohmy2]

33. +1

"Bernie hits back at Biden on Medicare For All "

" Bernie Sanders on Saturday accused former Vice President Joe Biden of using "misinformation" "

" Sanders seized on those comments, arguing in a statement his campaign released Saturday that under his proposal, there would be no gap in coverage as Americans transition into Medicare for All over four years. "

"...Biden said, he favors expanding former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act..."

...

[Blue_true]

36. Biden is right.

If insurance companies know they are being eliminated, they will have every incentive to stop covering people. During the meantime Bernie will try to do what no one did for decades. Sounds like a plan.

[betsuni]

39. "Bernie Sanders ... accused former Vice President Joe Biden of using 'misinformation'"

[Cha]

44. lol

Ikr.. can it get any stranger?

Don't answer that!

[ucrdem]

43. I haven't looked lately but I read it when he rolled it out

and Bernie, there's simply no there there.