Today, Joe Biden laid out his plan to make health care a right. As president, Biden will protect the Affordable Care Act from continued attacks. He opposes every effort to get rid of this historic law – including efforts by Republicans, and efforts by Democrats. Instead of starting from scratch and getting rid of private insurance, he has a plan to build on the Affordable Care Act by giving Americans more choice, reducing health care costs, and making our health care system less complex to navigate.
“Perhaps the most significant piece of Mr. Biden’s health care plan, which he had previously discussed, would provide free insurance coverage through a public option to all low-income adults in 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. There are roughly 2.5 million poor uninsured adults in those states who would qualify for Medicaid if their governors and legislatures, which are largely Republican, had allowed it.”
“A senior Biden campaign adviser said that he would continue to contrast his plan with those who propose moving to an entirely new system, saying that ‘is not the way to ensure that people in this country who need more affordable coverage are going to be able to get it. You'll certainly see him make a case about, you know, the urgency of having this fight and having it now,’ the adviser added.”
“The marquee item in Biden's healthcare pitch, officially released Monday, is to supplement ACA coverage, colloquially called Obamacare, by adding a ‘public option’ for Americans to be able to buy into a Medicare-like system already available to those at least 65 years old. This public option would also cover the ‘full scope of Medicaid benefits’ for nearly 5 million low-income Americans in states that did not accept the ACA's expansion of Medicaid, the government program used by more than 70 million people under the age of 65 who cannot afford coverage, a senior campaign official said.”
“Biden's plan also aims to curb prescription drug prices, including allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drug makers. Also, the prices of newly launched drugs that face no competition would be the subject of a review by an independent panel established by the Health and Human Services Department, and, in certain cases, recommend reasonable prices based on the average price in other countries. People would also be allowed to import some prescription drugs from other countries, and drug makers would face tax penalties for increasing the price of their brand-name, generic or biotech drugs by an amount larger than the inflation rate.”
“What's behind Biden's strategy: It's seen as more politically feasible than Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for All" proposal, which would effectively eliminate private insurance and shift all Americans to government-run health care. ‘It also allows Biden to directly contrast his plan with the Trump administration's. Advocating policies that build on the ACA dovetails well with a strategy of attacking President Trump for trying to undo the health law in Congress and the courts,’ said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation.”
Andy Slavitt, Former Head of Medicare, Medicaid & ACA for President Obama
Randi Weingarten, AFT President
Yvanna Cancela, State Senator for Nevada’s 10th District
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
AARP
Bo Erickson, 2020 Campaign Reporter, CBS News
Abby Goodnough, Health Care Reporter, New York Times
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