If presidential nominee Joe Biden wins in November and Democrats take the Senate, the former vice president will face an internal battle in the Democratic Party over health care, The Hill reported.
Biden ran his campaign around a government-run public option as opposed to Bernie Sanders’ bill, which is perceived by Biden and his allies as too radical. In the scenario mentioned above, the publication claimed that this battle will move to Congress.
If Democrats take the Senate, a Democratic aide claimed there would be plenty of moderates to push back against progressives, who believe that the Biden’s plan is not sufficient — especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic. But according to a health care industry source, many within the industry expect Democrats not to jump right to Biden’s proposal but instead begin making adjustments to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
Conversely, Rep. Robin Kelly, who is part of Biden and Sanders’ unity task force, claims that full Democrat control will bring change. According to Kelly, the industry should prepare for this scenario.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed in June that the Democratic Party’s priority will be health care. However, she did not go into detail about what the party would be proposing.
As noted by The Hill , Democrat control of the Senate would likely provide veto power to moderate members of the caucus, including Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin. When Manchin’s communications director was pressed on the lawmakers’ support for a public option, he evaded a direct answer.
“Senator Manchin has long said the Affordable Care Act is in need of repairs. He trusts that Vice President Biden will be willing to work with the entire caucus as he has been throughout his entire career.”
Kamala Harris, Biden’s recently selected running mate, has expressed favor for a Medicare for All approach. As reported by Forbes , Harris’ proposal has opted against eliminating private insurance — as Sanders pushed for — and favored a 10-year transition into her legislation.
“At the end of the 10-year transition, Americans would be able to choose a newly created public Medicare plan, or a Medicare plan offered by private insurers,” the report read.
The publication also noted that Biden and Harris’ plans are not significantly far apart. Other senators who have proposed plans similar to the pair’s approaches to health care include Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker.
As The Inquisitr reported, the People’s Policy Project, a socialist think tank, claimed that Sanders’ proposal would reduce the federal poverty rate by almost 20 percent.
