Just watched a fascinating health care discussion with the always astute Lawrence O'Donnell on Hardball. He told Haynes Johnson and Jacob Hacker that after 24 frustrating meetings of the finance committee in 1993, Pat Moynihan turned to him said, we should just drop the '65 and older' phrase out of the Medicare law and make that our bill. O'Donnell said that for a few years after they played around with the idea of a Medicare for All approach to health care reform, but being out of power the Dems couldn't do much about it. And this time around, they didn't want to get hung up on the current out of whack expenses for Medicare. But here we are...and the cost is going to be an issue no matter what it is as long as Republicans are sitting on the other end of the see-saw. So I say, screw it. Declare that what we want is Medicare for All and promise to fix the financing of it with whatever cost controls and taxes on the rich are necessary to sell it.
The idea of Medicare for All has a number of obvious benefits. Easy to implement right away. Easy to sound bite, put on a bumper sticker, and carry on a placard. Easy to remind folks that Medicare is a government program. Easy to assure seniors that no one is trying to take something good away from them, but give something good they get to a lot of other people, like their grandchildren. Easy to beat Republicans over the head with. Easy to discuss around the kitchen table. Easy as a steppingstone to single payer (or at least public option). Easy for congressional Democrats to say on TV without squirming. (Easy to mix in the Blue Dogs' kibbell.) Easy to make monumental change sound like incremental change (that one's for you, Barack). Easy to chant at Town Halls: Medicare for All...Medicare for All...Medicare for All...Medicare for All...Medicare for All...
Let's hear it!