Hillary Clinton has quietly updated her campaign website to clarify that she supports the option of a government-run healthcare plan for every American.
Clinton, who supported the idea of a so-called “public option” during her push for health reform in the 1990s and again during her 2008 presidential campaign, has posted on her website that she continues to support the idea.
“As she did in her 2008 campaign health plan, and consistently since then, Hillary supports a ‘public option’ to reduce costs and broaden the choices of insurance coverage for every American,” the website now says.
“To make immediate progress toward that goal, Hillary will work with interested governors, using current flexibility under the Affordable Care Act, to empower states to establish a public option choice.”
Clinton has been dogged by Democratic presidential opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wants a single-payer healthcare system to replace President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. In response, Clinton has said she wants to leave the healthcare law in place and simply improve upon it.
She has talked little during the campaign about her former support for a public option, instead focusing on reforms to lower prescription drug costs and potential changes to Obamacare such as removing some of its taxes.
The mention of a public option on her campaign website, a change first noted by Politico, could signal a shift in how willing Clinton is to talk about more significant changes to Obamacare and potentially institute them if elected president.
