Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pilloried the single-payer healthcare insurance proposals of some 2020 Democratic presidential candidates that would effectively eliminate private plans for all Americans.
“I’m not a big fan of ‘Medicare for all,'” Pelosi said in a Friday interview with Bloomberg. “I welcome the debate. I think that we should have healthcare for all. I think that the Affordable Care benefit is better than the Medicare benefit.”
Pelosi’s comments aired on the same day that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced her strategy to fund her proposed “Medicare for all” plan, one of the signature issues of her presidential bid.
Warren’s plan to fund “Medicare for all” has been estimated to cost $34 trillion, a figure she intends to satisfy with a variety of tax hikes, including an $8.8 trillion increase on payroll taxes and an intent to combat tax fraud. Critics have noted that Warren’s proposal still falls short of the financial mandate of the plan. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also been a vocal advocate for ending private health insurance in favor of “Medicare for all.”
Pelosi noted that she would be willing to listen to Democrats who supported “Medicare for all,” even though she currently isn’t a “big fan” of the proposal.
“We have invited advocates for it to testify in Congress … being respectful of the point of view,” she said. “But it is expensive. Who pays is very important. What are the benefits that come in there? I would think that, hopefully, as we emerge into the election year, the mantra will be more ‘healthcare for all Americans.'”
She also advocated for bipartisan support of lowered prescription drug prices.
“There is a comfort level that some people have with their current private insurance that they have, and if that is to be phased out, let’s talk about,” Pelosi said. “But let’s not have just one bill that would do that.”
[Read more: ‘Mathematical gymnastics’: Democratic rivals slam Warren over ‘Medicare for all’ funding plan]
