NBC is Still Misleading Americans About Medicare for All

On the first night of the primary debates, moderators asked candidates if they support abolishing private health insurance companies in exchange for a government program. Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio were the only two candidates to raise their hands. Much was made of this by the media, as demonstrated by these articles in Slate and Vice, among others.

But the moderators are bamboozling us.

Why did they phrase the question so awkwardly? Why didn’t they ask candidates directly if they support the Medicare for All bill, which has already been embraced by both candidates and voters?

Medicare for All has become a household term, so any question alluding to government run healthcare reform will be interpreted as referring to this bill. Moderators know this, but NBC has a bias and they want to push it. And damn it — fairness and accuracy aren’t going to stop them.

It’s a common misconception that Medicare for All would eliminate all private health insurance companies. This is an corporate smear meant to scare Americans away from progressive legislation, trying to make it seem too radical or unrealistic. With this question, NBC effectively endorsed this Fox News-style misrepresentation of Medicare for All, trying to force candidates into debating something that isn’t even on the table.

In fact, Medicare for All doesn’t ban private health insurance. Private health insurance companies will be allowed to offer whatever kinds of supplemental insurance they please. This is probably why, only a few minutes later, Tulsi Gabbard clarified that she supports Medicare for All too. Somehow, every media outlet I’ve seen missed this. Go figure.

We’re really getting into the healthcare reform weeds here, and moderators know it. They know that Americans don’t understand all of these nuances. It’s the job of people like Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow to explain these subtleties to viewers, but they’ve failed thoroughly at this for years — and they know this too. Instead, Rachel Maddow dedicates 53% of her show to Russia, giving only a pittance of time to anything else.

To be clear, Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio were correct to raise their hands even though the question was framed inaccurately. They knew how viewers would interpret their answers. Medicare for All has become a household term, so they knew that any question about single-payer healthcare would be interpreted as referring to this bill. They knew exactly how this would play in the media, and they were right.

Warren is now being touted as the only progressive healthcare reformer on stage, even though she and Tulsi Gabbard have endorsed the exact same legislation. Gee whiz, go figure.

This healthcare reform question proved only two things, that NBC wants to mislead their viewers about Medicare for All, effectively becoming right-wing propoganda, and that candidates like Tulsi Gabbard are more honest that Warren or de Blasio, refusing to bow down to corporate media propoganda.