Recognizing that the politics of health care are rapidly changing in the United States, a growing list of potential 2020 Democratic nominees are lining up in support of a new single-payer health care plan.
The bill, set to be officially proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday, is quickly winning the support of key Democrats – mostly notably those considering challenging Donald Trump in the next presidential election.
According to a new report from The Hill, citing Mic, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is the latest possible 2020 candidate to throw her support behind the measure. She is reportedly expected to announce her support of the plan soon.
The report also highlighted more key Democratic figures supporting the proposal: “Gillibrand joins other possible 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls in supporting the bill, including Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Kamala Harris (Calif.), and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).”
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“Health care should be a right, it should never be a privilege. We should have Medicare for all in this country,” the New York senator said, according to CNN.
The Democratic push for a health care system that covers all Americans comes as Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are moving in the opposite direction, trying but so far failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
A slew of CBO estimates this year found that GOP plans would result in more than 20 million Americans losing their health coverage.
Trump’s efforts have energized health care activists to push for a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system to build on the successes of Obamacare and expand coverage even further.
Public opinion is on the Democrats’ side, too, with a summer Pew poll showing that a majority of the country – 60 percent – believe the federal government should guarantee coverage to all Americans.
The move by a growing number of Democrats to embrace single-payer sets up a stark contrast between themselves and Donald Trump.
Do the American people want a president who works tirelessly to take health insurance away from millions of Americans as Donald Trump has, or do they want leaders who believe that health care in the United States is a right for all, not a privilege for the few?
The American people increasingly believe the latter.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
