THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY has fully mobilized multiple times this year in defense of the Affordable Care Act. But when it comes to the future of health care, the party has quietly given up on the idea of trying to make the ACA principle of regulated private insurance markets work. Instead, they see expanding public health insurance as the future.
Republicans have only themselves to blame.
The most visible sign of this shift from private to public was the release of Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare for all” bill. His measure garnered 16 co-sponsors, including every senator seen as a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, but it was by no means the only bill of its kind.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., introduced a bill with a public option. In August, a group of senators introduced a bill for Medicare buy-in for those age 55 and above. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, has started working on a detailedMedicaid buy-in plan while Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is working on a universal Medicare buy-in for individuals and large companies to create a path to single-payer. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is pushing a bill that would create a “Medicare Part E,” with E standing for everybody, Kaine said. At the state level, Democrats are also trying to come up with ways to let people buy into Medicaid or other public programs.