Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced plans Friday to phase in her “Medicare for All” proposal, saying she would first aim to give people the option of a government plan rather than seeking to immediately eliminate all private plans.
The plan to transition gradually to government-financed healthcare via an opt-in plan resembles the proposals from rival candidates Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, who have called for a healthcare “public option” rather than the more radical Medicare for All plan favored by Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In a campaign post, the Massachusetts senator said she would, in her first 100 days as president, introduce legislation to allow Americans to buy into a plan that would offer free coverage to all children and families making at or below 200% the federal poverty rate, or about $50,000 for a family of four. Americans who want government coverage could buy into a plan for a “modest” fee.
[Related: Elizabeth Warren: 2M lost jobs ‘part of the cost’ of ‘Medicare for all’]
She also said she would lower the costs of prescription drugs by cracking down on corruption in the pharmaceutical industry and extending protections for people with preexisting conditions.
By her third year in office, Warren said, she will introduce and fight for a full transition to a Medicare for All system, which would enroll everyone living in the U.S. into a government insurance plan.
“By this point, the American people will have experienced the full benefits of a true Medicare for All option, and they can see for themselves how that experience stacks up against high-priced care that requires them to fight tooth-and-nail against their insurance company,” Warren said.
Fellow presidential candidate and “Medicare for all” champion Bernie Sanders indirectly needled Warren about her plan to slowly phase in the plan.
In my first week as president, we will introduce Medicare for All legislation.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 15, 2019
“In my first week as president, we will introduce Medicare for All legislation,” Sanders tweeted Friday afternoon.
