Harris’s rollout Monday was met with swift criticism from both the Biden camp, which called it “A Bernie Sanders-lite Medicare for All,” and the Sanders camp, which insists Harris “can’t call [her] plan Medicare for All.”
In saying this, the Sanders campaign is effectively trying to lay a copyright claim to Medicare-for-all, as if it, and only it, can define what it means. The reality is far less clear — and depending on your perspective, it could be Harris’s proposal that is more justified in claiming the Medicare-for-all branding.
After months of confusing statements on the campaign trail, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) has finally released her proposal to offer comprehensive, universal health-care coverage under the Medicare-for-all brand.
It’s a good article and so perfectly timed too. I didn’t see anyone link to it yet so, here goes!
But while most people vaguely define Medicare simply as a government health-care program for seniors, there are additional parameters that make Medicare what it is today. First, while Medicare is mostly paid for with federal tax dollars, it also includes cost-sharing through premiums, deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance, just like private insurance policies.
I am on Medicare myself, since Spring of 2018 and money is taken from my social security and I had to chose an insurance company back up. Charles really explains this all so well!