[Occupymendocino] Republicans no longer have a path to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act.

[Richard Karch]

Bloomberg
November 7, 2018
Obamacare Repeal in Congress Is Dead. Next, a Battle Over Medicare for All
By John Tozzi

Obamacare repeal is officially dead. On to the battle over Medicare for All.

Tuesday’s midterm victories by Democrats mean that Republicans no longer have a path to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. It also sets up a debate between Democrats’ liberal and moderate wings over whether to embrace a broad expansion of insurance to all Americans as they prepare to challenge President Donald Trump for the presidency in 2020.

Tuesday’s midterm victories by Democrats mean that Republicans no longer have a path to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. It also sets up a debate between Democrats’ liberal and moderate wings over whether to embrace a broad expansion of insurance to all Americans as they prepare to challenge President Donald Trump for the presidency in 2020.

Once considered an outlier position, Medicare for All has gained substantial support among Democrats thanks to midterm primary victories by progressives who embraced it.

In its broadest terms, the proposal would expand benefits in Medicare -- which covers more than 50 million elderly or disabled Americans -- and offer it to working age people. It would be a radical change to U.S. health care, potentially dismantling much of an existing system where people get health benefits through work. It would also shift trillions of dollars that the country currently spends on private insurance.

“Medicare for All has really been a slogan that has not been well-defined, and it was weaponized by the Republican party as some kind of an attempt to socialize the medical system,” said Dan Mendelson, founder of the consulting group Avalere Health.

“It’s really going to be important for anyone running for president to define what they mean by Medicare for All,” he said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/health-politics-turn-to-medicare-for-all-as-obamacare-is-safe <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/health-politics-turn-to-medicare-for-all-as-obamacare-is-safe>

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