Democrats To Push For Medicare/Medicaid For All After Trumpcare Fails In The Senate

Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on ABC’s This Week that after the insurance markets are stabilized, Democrats will push for all options on the table including making Medicare and Medicaid available to all through a buy in a.k.a. the public option.

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Transcript via ABC’s This Week:

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SCHUMER: So the first things we’re going to propose — if the Republican — and the Republicans hopefully will join us, once they abandon this rotten bill, is some cost-sharing, which the insurance companies say will help bring down premiums and stabilize the market, something else that Republicans have often supported, which is reinsurance, proposed by Tom Carper and Tim Kaine.

And Claire McCaskill has proposed something in the bare counties, B-A-R-E — you can — if you can’t get insurance in those counties, you can get the same kind of health insurance we get.

Then we’re going to look at broader things — single payer is one of them…

STEPHANOPOULOS: So that is…

SCHUMER: — Medicare…

STEPHANOPOULOS: — on the table?

SCHUMER: — well, a — sure. Many things are on the table. Medicare for people above 55 is on the table. A buy-in to Medicare is on the table. A buy-in to Medicaid is on the table.

On the broader issues, we will start examining them once we stabilize the system.

The American people have resoundingly made their point during the Republican attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare. People see affordable healthcare as a basic right. They want affordable care that covers their medical needs. If Republicans fail with Trumpcare, it will be a decisive blow that will demonstrate that the ideological battle over healthcare is finished.

At some point, Democrats will be back in control of Congress and the White House. The game plan is still the same. Obamacare was never meant to be the final step, but the big first move towards universal coverage. Democrats are trying to protect the hard won gains for the American people right now, but a push for universal coverage remains in the cards.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association