Tag: public option

Biden unwinds Trump health-care policies

Volume 397, Issue 10272
30 January 2021

 

WORLD REPORT A Democrat in the White House and a Democratic Congress could bring big changes to US health policy, but challenges remain. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC. 

…Before the Biden Administration can tackle other health priorities, the first order of business is the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 420 000 Americans—a death toll higher than that of any other nation—and has exposed health-care inequities and crippled the economy. …Although Biden will have a lot of support for his health-care agenda, “that doesn’t mean that it’s smooth sailing”, said Lanhee Chen, a public policy fellow at the Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “I think there are still a lot of people who are very upset about the outcome of the election.” [Full story here.]…

US election 2020: the future of the Affordable Care Act

Volume 396, Number 10260     31 October 2020 

WORLD REPORT   President Donald Trump pledges to replace the Affordable Care Act while his Democratic opponent Joe Biden offers detailed proposals to improve it. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

Since winning the presidency in 2016 in large part by promising to eliminate Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Donald Trump has promised more than a dozen times that his replacement plan would be ready soon. The plan would be released in 2 weeks, a White House spokeswoman said 2 months ago.

“We’re going to have a health-care plan that will be second to none”, Trump said in 2017. “It’s going to be great and the people will see that.” And at last week’s final presidential debate, he vowed “to terminate Obamacare, [and] come up with a brand new beautiful health care”.

A decade after the ACA—President Barack Obama’s signature achievement—became law, repealing and replacing Obamacare is again central to Trump’s re-election. And improving and expanding the law is a crucial part of the campaign of his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. [Continued here.]     

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Medicare for All scrutinised in Democratic primaries

Volume 395       Number 10225     29 February 2020                          
WORLD REPORT  On March 3, 14 states will pick their nominees for the US presidential election. The feasability of a single payer insurance plan is a key issue. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.
Anxiety about rising health-care costs— the top issue for Democratic voters, according to recent polls—propelled Bernie Sanders to the head of the pack in last week’s Democratic primary contest in Nevada. Of the six leading candidates vying for the party’s presidential nomination, Sanders, a Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, has proposed the most radical solution for lowering medical bills and reaching universal coverage. His signature policy initiative, the Medicare for All single-payer programme, would eliminate private health insurance, including employment-based plans that cover about half of the US population. [Article compares Medicare for All and the public option proposal favoured by former Vice President Joe Biden; continued here]
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