Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders fight for Medicare for All

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) went to Hamptons this weekend, telling the very wealthy donors something quite obvious since she announced her candidacy for the White House: that she "was not comfortable with Bernie's plan" on health care.

"As you may have noticed, over the course of several months, I have not been comfortable with Bernie's plan, the Medicare plan for all," Harris said at of a fundraiser, according to a Bloomberg report.

Harris is a co-sponsor of Sanders' single payer bill, Medicare, for everyone. But she has gone through the map of one of the major features of the legislation: the elimination of private insurance. In late July, it finally released its own version of the "Medicare-for-all" bill, which, deviating from Sanders' proposal, would maintain the role of private insurance in a universal public system.

The Sanders team prepared Harris's plan for this only; they consider the elimination of for-profit insurance as an essential part of their vision of health insurance. Harris's latest criticism, and in particular the fact that she made this admission at a fundraiser with donors who paid between $ 100 and $ 2,800, did nothing more than make a donation. This led to an escalation of criticism from Sanders and his allies.

Sanders tweeted that his campaign was not collecting money in the Hamptons and that if he did, he would argue in favor of the single payer:

"Harris and many other 2020 Democrats have spent the past few weeks trying to bypass Medicare for All and preserve the private insurance industry whose premiums, deductibles, and co-payments now cost 28,000 dollars per year for an average family of four, "David Sirota. , a campaign advisor Sanders, wrote in his newly created newsletter, Bern Notice. Harris' seesaw recalls that even though Medicare for All received an enthusiastic response to the Bernie's Fox News conference in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania – it did not have that kind of reaction on the big fundraising circuit of Hamptons. "

Harris Press Attaché Ian Sams fought back, claiming that Sanders actually participated in these prestigious fundraisers as a senator on the Democratic Senators 'Campaign Committee and pointing out that Harris' plan also eliminated bonuses, franchises and copays.

Part of the debate is about a difference between Sanders' proposal, which would eliminate private insurance, and Harris's, which would preserve a role for insurers in the health care system. But by seizing Harris's remarks – and where she uttered them – the Sanders campaign connects their health care system with their more general argument about corporate greed.

Harris admits that she was everywhere on the map of health care

Harris' health care proposal, which his campaign unveiled at the end of July, would extend health insurance to all Americans, while allowing private insurers to play a role. She proposes that, over a 10-year period, everyone move to an expanded health insurance system; It would allow private insurance to participate in a structured program like Medicare Advantage, which currently offers Medicare eligible seniors the opportunity to choose from a range of private insurance options. All plans would cap direct costs at $ 200.

Before publishing his plan, it was difficult to target Harris on health care. She joined Sanders' single payer bill, Medicare-for-all. She publicly supported the abolition of private insurance by saying, "Let everything be eliminated. Come on, "at a CNN City Hall in January. She went on to say that she meant getting rid of "bureaucracy".

In April, at another CNN town hall, she pointed out that Sanders' law would have a role for private insurance, even though the Sanders Medicare for All Act would reduce the role of private insurance to areas such as cosmetic surgery or premium hospital rooms.

During the June Democratic debate, Harris raised his hand when Lester Holt of the NBC channel asked, "Who would remove their private health insurance as the preferred one from a government-run scheme?". She stated that she had misunderstood the issue, saying that she would prefer to enroll in public insurance.

It is not surprising that Ms. Harris stated that she did not fully adhere to Sanders' proposal for Medicare-to-All-Payer.

Every time she apparently approved the bill that she co-sponsored, she finally accepted it.

The big money debate

Harris says his plan responds to a real malaise of Americans. Sanders' single payer proposal has grown in popularity – albeit modestly – over time, but the possibility of completely eliminating private insurance is less popular.

For example, in a July poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 58% of respondents opposed the elimination of private health insurance companies, although 51% approved a single health insurance program managed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. the government.

Virtually all countries with universal health coverage have a role to play in the system of private insurers to supplement or support the public system. But Harris' proposal would still dramatically change how private insurance works in the US health care system.

The medical industry is actively campaigning against Medicare for all, but as Dylan Scott of Vox reports, doctors, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceuticals have rejected any proposal ranging from single-payer proposals to public options to even age reduction to buy Medicare. at 55.

Sanders, meanwhile, considers that a for-profit health system is fundamentally down. Its campaign platform is focused on tackling the greed of major corporate interests, whether it's pharmaceutical companies, the fossil fuel sector or the private insurance sector.

In a speech on Medicare-for-all in June, he pledged to deny money to insurance companies and drug companies and called on other presidential candidates to make money. even. He has raised more money than any other candidate and has the largest number of donors, and the vast majority of his donors make a small contribution. Harris is committed to rejecting funds from capitalization companies, fossil fuel industries and federal lobbyists.

Sanders' campaign speaks of the influence of the rich.