Democrats set aside internal feud for first Medicare for All Act hearing

House Democrats avoided exposing their party’s divisions over healthcare on Tuesday during a hearing for the Medicare for All Act, a bill that would do away with private insurance and move everyone living in the U.S. onto a government plan.

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Rules Committee and co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act, said at the conclusion of the hearing that he was pleased that “a serious topic was treated in a very serious manner” and that his colleagues were surprised the discussion had been “civilized and in-depth.”