Progressives Support Shoring Up ACA Before Tackling Medicare For All

[Power 2 the People]

“I’m happy to support any provision that strengthens the ACA and plug some of the gaps that we’re seeing, particularly as it’s under assault by the president,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told HuffPost on Wednesday. “I think it’s part of a longer-term vision, at least for me, towards guaranteeing ― truly guaranteeing ― health care for all Americans.”

No less than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose 2016 primary campaign arguably mainstreamed Medicare for All among Democrats, also backed the idea of Congress shoring up the ACA rather than focusing all its energies on enacting single-payer.

Other progressives ― like the lead author of a yet-to-be-released Medicare for All bill, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) ― said Wednesday that it wasn’t “contradictory in any way” to support strengthening the ACA while still pushing for a transformation of the health care system to universal coverage.

“I told the speaker ― and I said in caucus yesterday ― we are completely united, as I’ve said for a while, on shoring up the ACA. Like, that cannot wait,” Jayapal said.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-aca-democrats-array-ocasio-cortez-health-care-medicare_n_5c9bc9f9e4b072a7f603a718

[manor321]

1. That's not what Bernie said last night on Chris Hayes' show

[MrsCoffee]

4. Right? He was definitely all or nothing.

Link to tweet

[Andy823]

5. The poster knows that

They have even posted on that thread talking about what Bernie did.

[riverine]

2. Good. Medicaid should be expanded to all who need it.

And those who want to keep their employer based health insurance should feel safe.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Good to hear...

MFA is a heavy lift. Would not be good to let ACA lapse while in the process of working toward MFA.

[UniteFightBack]

6. This is the way to go!!!!!!!! We finally got people liking the ACA....let's stick with it and make

it work.

[George II]

7. This was already posted a few hours ago here when it was Latest Breaking News:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142293852

George II (36,262 posts)


Progressives Support Shoring Up ACA Before Tackling Medicare For All
Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON ― The Trump administration’s effort to completely dismantle the Affordable Care Act through the courts is having one immediate, unintended consequence: uniting Democrats.

Despite a large division in the Democratic party over the best health care solution ― single-payer or a continuation and possible expansion of something like Obamacare ― progressives in Congress appear to be in lockstep with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s priority of shoring up the ACA before tackling anything like Medicare for All.

“I’m happy to support any provision that strengthens the ACA and plug some of the gaps that we’re seeing, particularly as it’s under assault by the president,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told HuffPost on Wednesday. “I think it’s part of a longer-term vision, at least for me, towards guaranteeing ― truly guaranteeing ― health care for all Americans.”

Ocasio-Cortez said she understood prioritizing fixes to the Affordable Care Act. “Because we have a Republican Senate, a Republican president, and so the things that we have the ability to pass right now are pretty narrow,” she said, though she added she wanted hearings on Medicare for All and didn’t think single-payer solutions had been given enough attention from the Democratic caucus yet.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-aca-democrats-array-ocasio-cortez-health-care-medicare_n_5c9bc9f9e4b072a7f603a718?1hd