As Kamala Harris equivocates on her position on healthcare, Bernie Sanders has thrown down the gauntlet: Either you support the elimination of private insurance, or you aren’t really for “Medicare for all.”
In an emailed statement to campaign reporters titled “Sanders Calls for No Middle Ground on Medicare for All,” the Vermont socialist senator says:
The news comes as Harris is coming off a strong debate performance that was nonetheless complicated by her confusing position on healthcare.
During the Democratic debate, the California senator raised her hand in what sounded to most like a clear question about whether candidates favored getting rid of private insurance for those who have it. She later said she misheard the question.
Her more equivocal position doesn’t necessarily contradict Sanders in that he also says there will be a role for private insurance. But the difference in emphasis is important.
When asked about whether his plan would end private insurance, Sanders generally says yes, and then emphasizes that the remaining role would be very limited.
Harris, meanwhile, has signed on to the Sanders plan, yet when asked whether she would eliminate private insurance, emphasizes that she supports “supplemental” policies, without spelling out just how limited they would actually be.
The bottom line is that the Sanders bill that Harris supports would kick about 180 million people off their private insurance policies. Only at that point would people be able to try to seek out “supplemental” coverage for cosmetic surgery, if they can even find such a policy.
Sanders is willing to own that, but Harris is trying to have it both ways.
The statement suggests Sanders is trying to redraw a hard line on healthcare. In 2016, he had the “Medicare for all” lane to himself, but now it’s gotten quite crowded. So he wants to demonstrate that he’s still the one who is most pure on the issue.
