Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Medicare For All' Has Become A Litmus Test For Progressive Dems. But Carrying Through On Promise Also Holds Big Risk.
California鈥檚 next governor Gavin Newsom is an avowed single-payer supporter in the country鈥檚 most populous state. But how much of his stand is principle and how much is policy is not totally clear. And no matter how he handles it, he'll inevitably anger part of his base. That, in a nutshell, is a preview of the Democrats' health policy dilemma heading into the 2020 election cycle. Single payer, or 鈥淢edicare for All,鈥 has become a litmus test for the growing number of Democrats who are contemplating challenging President Donald Trump. (Colliver, 11/15)
Progressive Democrats are pushing for a vote on a controversial health-care bill after the party takes control of the House early next year.聽But the left鈥檚 push for 鈥淢edicare for all鈥 legislation would likely divide Democrats and pose a headache for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is poised to become Speaker in the next Congress.聽 (Sullivan, 11/15)
Promoting a government-run health care system like "Medicare-for-all" was a popular campaign rallying cry for many Democrats, but one liberal senior House member acknowledged Wednesday that聽a quick vote on such a solution is unlikely. House Energy and Commerce member Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.,聽during a CQ Roll Call event, signaled that expanding coverage and reducing costs for consumers was an important priority but that Democrats are far from coalescing聽behind a plan to overhaul the system. (Raman, 11/14)