Posted on 05/10/2016 1:08:13 PM PDT by reaganaut1
For months during the Democratic nominating contest, Hillary Clinton has resisted calls from Senator Bernie Sanders to back a single-payer health system, arguing that the fight for government-run health care was a wrenching legislative battle that has already been lost.
But as she tries to clinch the nomination, Mrs. Clinton is lurching to the left on health care and this week took a significant step in her opponent’s direction, suggesting that she would like to give people the option to buy into Medicare.
“I’m also in favor of what’s called the public option, so that people can buy into Medicare at a certain age,” Mrs. Clinton said at a campaign event in Virginia on Monday.
Mr. Sanders calls his single-payer health care plan “Medicare for all.” What Mrs. Clinton proposed was a sort of Medicare for more.
The Medicare program currently covers Americans once they reach 65. Beneficiaries pay premiums to help cover the cost of their coverage, but the government foots the bulk of the bill. Mrs. Clinton’s suggestion was that perhaps younger Americans, “people 55 or 50 and up,” could voluntarily pay the full cost to join the program.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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