Former Rep. John Delaney on Wednesday ratcheted up his criticism of Sen. Bernard Sanders’ Medicare for All proposal, warning it is “bad policy and bad politics” and it “will help President Trump get re-elected.”
Lagging in the polls in the 2020 nomination race, Mr. Delaney has called out the left wing of the party on health care in the hopes of drawing attention to his underdog bid and his plan to rework the health care system.
The Maryland Democrat said people want “choices when it comes to healthcare, not a government-only-approach” and said his plan would represent the largest expansion of government health care coverage since Medicare.
“I believe in the politics of addition, that we should be providing healthcare benefits to those who are uninsured or lack basic coverage, not telling 150 Million Americans that their health insurance is illegal, which the Medicare For All legislation explicitly does,” he said in a statement. “That is the politics of subtraction.”
“I don’t believe that the American people will support a system where they have to give up their health insurance, where low reimbursement rates will lead to hospital closures, or where a single President (like President Trump) is in charge of our entire health care system,” he said.
Mr. Delaney has outlined a plan in which all Americans under the age of 65 would be enrolled in a public health care plan, and employees and individuals would also have the option of purchasing supplemental insurance from private health care providers.
Critics of the Sanders’ plan say that private insurance companies would be virtually walled off from the industry because they would not be able to duplicate government coverage.
“To beat Trump we must have an honest debate about the best way to ensure everyone has health care while also preserving options. Voters need to hear the truth, not more political slogans,” Mr. Delaney said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive sensation from New York who has become a barometer for grassroots liberal politics, hammered Mr. Delaney last week over his criticism of Medicare for All, saying it is time for him to “sashay away.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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