Commentary: Stop the Left’s Medicare-for-All Agenda

Our nation, especially in today’s climate, cannot afford a socialist takeover. If extreme liberals had it their way, our entire health care system would be run by the government, and any true conservative knows that is the absolute wrong approach. Health care costs would skyrocket and American patients, families and taxpayers would be left to foot the bill. If lawmakers aren’t careful, this could be our near future. 

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Far-Left Congresswomen Rally Behind Tennessee Congressional Candidate Odessa Kelly

Odessa Kelly, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-7) for reelection, is touting the backing of three of Congress’s most left-wing members. 

Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7) and Cori Bush (D-MO-1) issued the endorsements on Monday. The congresswomen are members of what many observers call “The Squad,” a six-member coalition of far-left U.S. House members who advocate for such causes as police defunding, Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

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Poll: Most Americans Don’t Want Medicare for All Once They Understand Costs

by Bethany Blankley   Most Americans oppose a Medicare for All program once they understand what it means and how much it would cost, a Health Tracking poll conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reveals. The poll found that a majority of people – 56 percent – favor a Medicare for All (M4A) single-payer healthcare system when no details about how much it would cost are provided. A larger majority, 77 percent, expressed support for incremental changes to the health care system like allowing for the option of a Medicare buy-in program for adults between ages 50 and 64. Slightly less, 75 percent, support Medicaid buy-in plans for individuals who don’t have health coverage through their employer. Both the Medicare and Medicaid buy-in plans received 69 and 64 percent support from Republicans, respectively. These numbers drop dramatically when respondents are given information on what implementing M4A would cost. When asked if support for M4A included the requirement to eliminate all private health insurance and increase taxes, only 37 percent of respondents supported it. When asked if implementing M4A would directly cause some medical treatments and tests to be delayed, only 26 percent approved. The greatest criticism of…

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Four Takeaways from House Democrats’ ‘Medicare for All’ Hearing

by Rachel del Guidice   Democrats pushed their “Medicare for All” legislation in a hearing Tuesday before the House Rules Committee, saying it would provide health care efficiently to all Americans. “Full room at the FIRST EVER hearing on #MedicareForAll today,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., tweeted Tuesday. “A tremendous step in ensuring every single person in this country has quality and affordable health care.” Jayapal is the House sponsor of Medicare for All legislation, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is the sponsor of a similar bill in the Senate. Sanders’ Medicare for All Act of 2019 could cost $32 trillion over 10 years and rob 181 million Americans of their private health coverage, asserted Robert Moffit, a senior fellow in domestic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, in a recent op-ed. Here are four takeaways from the hearing. 1. Veterans Called Satisfied With Government Care Dr. Farzon Nahvi, an emergency room physician at NYU Langone Health, testified that military veterans are satisfied with their health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs and argued that bodes well for switching to universal, government-run health care. “I work at a private hospital, a public hospital, and I also work at the VA…

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Commentary: Ignore Medicare for All Advocates’ Claims on Life Expectancy in US.

by Robert Moffit   Ponder this: If self-styled “progressives” in Congress impose total government control over health care, will ordinary Americans enjoy a longer life span? Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chief sponsor of the Senate “Medicare for All” bill (S. 1804), often reminds us that the United States spends roughly twice as much per capita on health care as most other economically advanced countries, but American life expectancy is lower than that of almost all these high-income nations. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., lead sponsors of the House’s Medicare for All bill (H.R. 1384) say, “The quality of our health care is much worse than [that of] other industrialized countries. The life expectancy in the U.S. is lower than other nations, while our infant mortality is much higher.” These are misleading generalizations. In fact, American medical outcomes for the most serious conditions—for example, lower mortality from heart attacks and strokes, as well as survival rates from a variety of cancers—are generally superior to those of other advanced countries. America’s high level of investment in advanced medical technologies, including innovative drug therapies, has improved medical outcomes and has directly contributed to longer life expectancy among our senior citizens.…

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Tim Ryan Distances Himself from Eliminating Private Health Insurance Despite Being Cosponsor of Bill That Does Just That

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), now a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said in a recent CNN interview that he doesn’t support the elimination of private health insurance. Ryan, however, is cosponsoring a bill that would eliminate most private insurance, which is one of the explicit goals of the bill’s lead sponsor. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) introduced her “Medicare for All” bill in late February, and explicitly states in the bill that starting on “the effective date described in section 106(a), it shall be unlawful for a private health insurer to sell health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act.” While speaking with reporters, Jayapal said that her bill “really makes it clear what we mean by ‘Medicare for All.’” “We mean a complete transformation of our health care system, we mean a system where there are no private insurance companies that provide these core comprehensive benefits that will be covered through the government,” she said, according to NBC News. Jayapal’s staffers told Roll Call that the bill would eliminate most private insurance under its prohibition on duplicate coverage. Ryan joined the bill as a cosponsor on February 27 along with 107 of his Democratic colleagues…

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Three Doctors in Congress Diagnose the Problems with ‘Medicare for All’

by Rob Bluey   Few issues have animated conservatives as much as Obamacare. But there’s a new threat on the horizon. It’s called Medicare for All – and it would be a massive government takeover of your health care. The Daily Signal spoke with three medical doctors who are serving in the U.S. House – Reps. Scott DesJarlais (pictured, center), Paul Gosar (pictured, right), and Andy Harris (pictured, left) – to talk about Medicare for All and their solutions for a patient-centered alternative. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript below. Rob Bluey: I want to ask about not only some of the problems we find in health care today, but also solutions. Some of your colleagues on the left have put forward quite a radical proposal called Medicare for All. As doctors, I want to ask you to weigh in on what you think about it. Congressman Harris, would you like to begin? Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md.: The Medicare for All plan that was announced a couple weeks by my Democrat colleagues, over 100 of them, really will result in care for none. That’s the bottom line. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out…

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Democrats Worry Agenda Will ‘Die a Horrible Death’ in the Senate, Regardless of 2020 Outcome

by Chris White   Democrats are warning that some of the party’s biggest agenda pledges are destined to crash in the Senate, regardless of the 2020 election’s outcome. Medicare for All, a potential Green New Deal and a push for a $15 minimum wage would struggle to get past a Senate in which Republicans will maintain a great deal of influence, even if Democrats sweep the Senate and defeat President Donald Trump, according to some operatives Friday. It’s a problem of mathematics, Adam Jentleson, a former spokesman for former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, told reporters Friday. “The Senate is going to make or break the progressive agenda in 2021, regardless of how well we do at the top of the ticket,” Jentleson said, adding that the best Democrats can hope for in 2020 is getting 52 Senate seats, which would require a Herculean effort. They will need to gain three seats to win a majority. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Susan Collins of Maine are the only Republicans vying for re-election in states former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Arizona Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona and David Perdue of Georgia, meanwhile, are on the…

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