Dems will hold its first health insurance hearing for all, while progressives fear the prank of the "theater of deliberation"



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Democrats in the House will hold their first-ever hearing on health insurance legislation for everyone on Tuesday. They will present an ambitious proposal adopted by several supporters of the 2020 Democratic presidency, although some progressives warn that this hearing can be a "farce", and President Trump and the best Republicans call this idea a socialist prescription for the disaster.

The 10:00 am (Eastern Time) Rules Committee hearing is about the 2019 Medicare for All Act, which promises to cover "all people living in the United States. United States". within two years, according to the current draft of the bill and a summary made public by Michigan Democrat Representative Pramila Jayapal.

The bill garnered support from more than 100 congressional co-sponsors, including New York representative Alexandrai Ocasio-Cortez and Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar. Presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have approved a version of the proposal, while Amy Klobuchar has argued that a public option .

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Some progressives fear that Tuesday's hearing is only a little more than a "deliberate debate," noting that Wendell Primus, one of the House's main assistants, Nancy Pelosi, who allegedly participated in the planning of the hearing, commented disdainfully on Medicare for all.

In February, Primus reportedly told insurance executives not to worry about Democrats pushing the proposal.

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Joined by Senators and Democrat supporters, unveils his Medicare for All bill to reform health care.

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Joined by Senators and Democrat supporters, unveils his Medicare for All bill to reform health care.
(AP Photo / Andrew Harnik)

Pelosi said she was "agnostic" about the issue and asked openly in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in February: "How do you pay for that?"

The Republicans have invited Charles Blahous, senior researcher at the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, to answer precisely this question. Blahous is the author of a study that revealed that the plan would increase the government's spending on health care by $ 32.6 billion over 10 years and would result in historic tax increases.

According to Blahous, these tax increases would only offset expenses of about $ 2 trillion. Blahous later accused Ocasio-Cortez of misinterpreting his study to say that Medicare for All would save money.

Republicans also invited Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner to testify. Turner warned, last month, in an editorial about the potential consequences: "Everyone would be forced to abandon the current coverage, including 173 million Americans who benefit from health insurance at work and much higher taxes to fund $ 32 billion, added government spending over the next decade.In comparison, federal revenues totaled $ 3.4 trillion last year. "

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Democrats, on the other hand, have invited economist Dean Baker, physician Farzon Nahvi, founder of Be a Hero, Ady Barkan, and others.

But a Huffington Post article noted that "Medicare for All advocates may be being fooled," as many of the Democrats' witnesses do not actually support Medicare for all. Pelosi's office responded that the Rules Committee was free to choose witnesses.

"How do you pay for this?"

– Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, on Medicare for All

An anonymous person, proposed as a witness to the Rules Committee but rejected, wondered if the hearing would not be simply a "joke" to defend the Affordable Care Act, instead of advancing medicare for all .

With the current Republican majority in the Senate, the proposal has no chance of being adopted yet. In an interview with Fox News earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell, R-Ky., Promised to be the "reaper" of ideas such as Medicare for All and Green New Deal, as long as he is in office. McConnell must be re-elected in 2020.

Tuesday's hearing follows a report released Monday by Medicare and Social Security government controllers that the financial status of government retirement programs for middle-class and middle-class Americans worker remains fragile, Medicare reporting an insolvency by 2026..

"I am proud to announce this historic hearing on medicare legislation for all," said James P. McGovern, Chair of the Rules Committee, in a statement. "We have made tremendous progress in expanding health care over the years, including the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which covered more than 20 million Americans. to do and that's why I'm proud it's a serious proposal that deserves to be seriously considered at Capitol Hill while we are working on universal coverage. "

Jayapal added, "There is no other developed country on the planet with a health care system as fragmented and expensive as ours. Health problems and barriers to care in America are the worst of all industrialized countries. Health care is a human right and I am proud that the Rules Committee is holding this hearing on the "Medicare for All" law, as this majority discusses ways to strengthen our health system for all. "

Sarah Sanders, press secretary at the White House, said the report released Monday by three chiefs of staff and deputy commissioner of Social Security, underlined the need for "serious" lawmakers to collaborate with the administration on social security issues. bipartite changes to reduce costs, eliminate fraud and abuse and preserve the program for future generations.

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Sanders also took the opportunity to criticize Democrats' calls for extending health insurance. She asserted that such a measure would amount to a "total takeover of health care by the government", which would eliminate private sector options, jeopardize seniors' access to health care, and would further increase the federal budget.

The issue announces it as a crucial issue for the 2020 elections, and an Associated Press-NORC poll for the Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that support for Medicare for All primarily concerns Democrats – and not the independent ones. White House.

However, the study found that Democrats enjoyed a 17 percentage point advantage over Republicans in the ratings of Americans to whom they trusted more to manage health care, from 40% to 23%. This compares to a more equitably divided public on the party that would best address several other broad areas of national politics, including the economy, immigration, and foreign affairs.

Chad Pergram of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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