Every media outlet is going to claim to know what Kennedy would have wanted on health care.
Now, if there ever was a time, we (you!) need to be talking about Kennedy's Medicare For All - because there's no reason to have to speculate on what Kennedy wanted.
In 2006, and again in 2007, Ted Kennedy proposed Medicare for All. First, the official summary, and next, why it matters:
Medicare for All Act - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (Medicare for All) under which: (1) each eligible individual is entitled to benefits which include the full range and scope of benefits available under the original fee-for-service program under parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare), with parity in coverage of mental health benefits, subject to appropriate cost sharing; (2) each enrollee is free to choose his or her own doctor and private health plan; and (3) benefits are not less than the benefits offered to Members of Congress and Federal employees under FEHBP (Federal Employees Health Benefits Program).
Establishes the Medicare for All Trust Fund.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose: (1) on the income of every individual a tax equal to 1.7% of wages received; (2) on every employer an excise tax equal to 7% of the wages paid to each employee; and (3) on the self-employment income of every individual, a tax equal to the applicable percentage of the self-employment income for such taxable year.
In other words, once the bill was fully phased in, anyone could choose to sign up for Medicare and pay for it via taxes.
You can read the full bill (which is wonderfully concise) at govtrack. (Here is the previous year's version of the bill.)
We need this bill to be a big part of the public debate:
- This was Kennedy's last piece of unfinished life work. Everyone acknowledges how important universal health care was to Ted Kennedy. Now we need to follow through on his goal by pushing for what he wanted.
- Kennedy himself was personally pushing for the ultimate public option. This powerfully negates any claim that Kennedy would have not supported a public option, which I'm sure we'll see more and more of.
- This is an example of what he would have wanted to pass (he reintroduced the bill, so it wasn't just some one-time idea of his).
- The bill was amazing in its simplicity: every 2 years (or, in another version of the bill, every 5 years) the eligibility for Medicare was lowered by 10 years (and raised from below by 10 years), with those under 65 being asked to check a box on their taxes if they signed up for Medicare (to be charged for it). It's a great model for the public option, and makes the argument for a public option easier.
- If this legislation can be recovered even in spirit, then it would be fully justified to name it in Kennedy's honor, as many have suggested.