General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: HR 676 !!! - Let's put Single Payer into the conversation: [View all]ehrnst
(32,640 posts)Words matter, their definitions matter. And once you start calling something either one of those names (which are not interchangeable) you had better not deviate at all. Remember all the uproar after Obama made the gaffe of "you can keep your doctor?" The GOP is still feeding off that in their campaign against the ACA.
Yes, Medicare needs to be strengthened, and provide better coverage before any talk of "Medicare for all" (whatever that means at the moment) being implemented.
Even then, expansion needs to be gradual. The suggestion of allowing people to buy in at 55 as a first step to see how that functions is as far as we're going to be able to go at this point - just in terms of cost, and impact on the health care infrastructure.
Then, after a few years, once that is established, and working well, then we expand SCHIP to cover any kids under 18 that are not covered.