Washington.- Democrats, who touted the Biden administration’s health care accomplishments during their convention in Chicago this week, largely failed to mention a policy that divided the party during Vice President Kamala Harris’ first presidential campaign: Medicare for All.
Harris, who proposed a less comprehensive plan in 2019 than some of her progressive rivals, no longer supports a single-payer health insurance system, her campaign said last month.
His avoidance of a policy that has been a central part of progressive Democrats’ aspirations underscores how quickly he has sought to define his candidacy to appeal to more moderate voters, and how Medicare for All proposals have abandoned the Democratic mainstream — for now.
It also represents more broadly how prospects for Medicare for All legislation have diminished during President Biden’s term, forcing progressive Democrats to reassess their strategy in a difficult political climate.
Biden did not support Medicare for All proposals in his 2020 campaign or as president.
Instead, he pursued more traditional health care priorities, such as increasing enrollment in Medicare and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Even if Democrats were to gain control of the Senate and House, they are unlikely to have a large enough margin to pass legislation like Medicare for All.
That hasn’t bothered Republicans, who have continued to suggest that Harris will try to strike a more radical stance as president than she is campaigning for.
Former President Donald J. Trump said last week that a Harris victory would mean Americans would be forced into “a communist system where anybody would have health care.”
Democratic Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, a proponent of Medicare for All, said the Biden administration’s efforts to expand Medicaid, eliminate medical debt and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices would maintain the spirit of universal health coverage.
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