Harris Isn’t Pushing Medicare For All Anymore. Progressives Say That’s OK.
Kamala Harris, the vice president, is no longer an advocate for “Medicare for All.” Progressives are avoiding the issue.
As a California senator, Harris co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All legislation. She also presented a modified version of the proposal as the centerpiece of her brief 2020 presidential campaign.
However, a campaign spokesperson informed POLITICO that Harris no longer has it on his agenda.
As she has done with regard to energy and abortion policy, this is just another instance of Harris moving towards the center of her party.
Despite their disappointment, progressives said they will continue to back her until she determines the best course of action to take against former President Donald Trump, even if it means stepping away from their cause.
When you weigh the likelihood of disappointment against the possibility of losing anything, I would select a health plan that doesn’t precisely suit my needs. Democracy,” stated Gillian Mason, interim executive director of Healthcare-NOW.
This advocacy group favors a single-payer system. Mason added that maintaining Harris’ moderate Democratic health policy “would be a mistake” and might cost her essential supporters.
Since the Harris campaign has indicated that Medicare for All is not on her agenda, there is currently a debate among Democratic policy insiders over whether Harris should continue praising the achievements of the Biden administration or present an updated policy agenda.
This debate was made evident in interviews with nine experts and activists, some of whom are in contact with the Harris campaign.
In addition to defining the parameters of her administration’s policy, Harris’s choices in November would also determine the extent of the Democratic Party’s goals for health care.
Seth Schuster, a spokesman for Harris’ campaign, said that while Harris would adopt the “same pragmatic approach” as the Biden administration has taken on policy, “focusing on common-sense solutions for the interest of advancement,” he declined to address the switch to Medicare-for-All.
Compared to her 2020 primary campaign, Harris has been more circumspect thus far, highlighting achievements that she and President Joe Biden both have, like increasing access to Obamacare beneficiaries’ private insurance plans and negotiating Medicare prescription costs.
She has made general remarks in favor of defending Obamacare and sent emails requesting signatories to an open letter supporting the Inflation Reduction Act, which put Medicare in charge of negotiating medication pricing for the first time.
This tactic is a reflection of the worries held by many Democrats that Medicare for All may alienate swing voters due to concerns about how it may impact their private health insurance. According to polls, the public is divided.
Many Democrats worry that making it the focal point of Harris’ campaign could benefit Trump. Furthermore, they think it improbable that it could be passed during a Harris presidency, even by a Democratic Congress.
According to Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at the nonpartisan health institute KFF, “the votes just aren’t there for Medicare for All.”
Given the state of politics today, many progressives hold that belief. Beyond the desire to prevent Trump from winning the presidency, Levitt noted that there is still a reason why they support the candidate: “Medicare for All advocates would have someone in the White House who shares many of their values.”
Leslie Dach, the founder and chair of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group that works to lower costs and increase access to care, called the Biden administration’s proposals — even the ones that Republicans are blocking, like capping the price of insulin in the private market or expanding already-existing health programs — “a big, big, big deal and an aggressive agenda.” “Our ability to win this election will depend on the things we have already done and the things we have stated we want to do.”
Historically, the centerpiece of Democratic presidential campaigns has been extensive reforms to the healthcare system. Both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton prioritized eradicating uninsurance.
Biden pledges to end the pandemic. Lyndon Johnson made Medicare and Medicaid creation a cornerstone of his Great Society; John F. Kennedy, on the other hand, promised health care for the underprivileged and the aged.
Medicare for All proponents said they comprehend Harris’s decision to adopt a different strategy.
“I desire that all presidential candidates declare their support for Medicare for All,” said Dr. Ed Weisbart.
National Board Secretary of Physicians for a National Health Program is an independent organization that promotes a single-payer healthcare system.
Weisbart, however, stated that his efforts are independent of the president endorsing the program. 1. He stated that for progressive change to be realized, the American populace needs to take the initiative.” Presidents will come right after.”
Taking risks versus completing the task.
Progressives continue to demand things from Harris.
They, along with other party members from all ideological stripes, want her to seize the chance to create a fresh, voter-inspired platform, even if it doesn’t include a single-payer system.
“We win by being aggressive, bold, and visionary,” Mason stated, reiterating a sentiment expressed by both progressive and moderate Democratic health specialists.
Their positions are all different. As California’s attorney general, Harris launched several initiatives aimed at strengthening the government’s ability to defend consumers in the health sector.
Some of these groups want Harris to pursue large healthcare businesses with greater vigor.
They would like to see plans that will appeal to the majority of voters and possibly even garner bipartisan support in Congress to enhance maternal health, narrow Medicaid coverage gaps, and increase access to telehealth.
Some policy experts theorized that because Harris served as vice president, she occasionally served as the administration’s public face on particular health issues, which may have given her ideas about how to go beyond Biden’s efforts.
According to the people, she might keep pushing for this policy and possibly expand it, as she has frequently served as a spokesperson for the administration’s initiatives to lessen the burden of medical debt.
In addition, Harris has made extensive remarks regarding the restoration of abortion rights, a topic that almost all Democratic policy experts, irrespective of the course they wish the campaign to take, view as a means for her to set herself apart and raise her chances of winning the election, even if it is just by outmaneuvering Biden on the subject.
However, some party members believed Harris would be better off sticking with Biden’s policies and avoiding any new ones, promising to “finish the job,” as he put it.
Dach declared, “We don’t need new ideas.” “She ought to focus more on carrying out the work of this administration and less on making her own things.”
The Harris campaign wants to adopt the administration’s strategy for the time being.
According to a Harris campaign consultant who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal planning, “three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration have shaped the vice president’s positions.”
