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We’re doing one thing somewhat completely different this vacation week. Because “Medicare for All” is a lot within the information, we’re rerunning an earlier explainer episode.
But first, KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner talks with KHN correspondent Shefali Luthra about how well being care performed within the Democratic presidential candidate debates June 26 and 27.
This replay of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast from February takes a deep dive into the often-confusing Medicare for All debate, together with its historical past, prospects and terminology.
The panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call.
Among the takeaways from the podcast:
Medicare for All is a brand new rallying cry for progressives, however the present Medicare program has huge limitations. It doesn’t cowl most long-term care bills and contains no protection of listening to, dental, imaginative and prescient or foot care. Medicare additionally contains no stop-loss or catastrophic care restrict that protects beneficiaries from huge payments. Though current feedback by Democratic presidential candidates on eliminating personal insurance coverage with a transfer to Medicare for All stirred controversy, personal insurance coverage is certainly concerned in lots of features of the federal government program. Private corporations present the Medicare Advantage plans utilized by greater than a 3rd of beneficiaries, the Medicare drug plans and far of the invoice processing for all the program. Many shoppers — and politicians — are confused by the phrases being thrown round within the present debate about Medicare for All. The plan provided by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a few of his supporters can be a “single-payer” system, through which the federal government can be in control of paying for all well being care — though medical doctors, hospitals and different well being care suppliers would stay personal. Others typically use the time period Medicare for All to imply a a lot much less drastic change to the U.S. well being care system, resembling a “public option” that will supply particular teams of individuals — maybe these over age 50 or shoppers buying protection on the insurance coverage marketplaces — the chance to purchase into Medicare protection. Sanders’ imaginative and prescient of Medicare for All relies on Canada’s system. But even there, hospitals and medical doctors are personal companies, medicine will not be coated in all places, and advantages differ among the many provinces. The well being care business is almost united in opposing the discuss of shifting to a Medicare for All program due to considerations about disruption to the system and fewer pay. Currently, Medicare reimbursements are about 40% decrease than personal insurance coverage.
If you need to know extra in regards to the subsequent huge well being coverage debate, listed here are some articles to get you began:
Vox’s “Private Health Insurance Exists in Europe and Canada. Here’s How It Works,” by Sarah Kliff
The Washington Post’s “How Democrats Could Lose on Health Care in 2020,” by Ronald A. Klain
The American Prospect’s “The Pleasant Illusions of the Medicare-for-All Debate,” by Paul Starr
The Week’s “Why Do Democrats Think Expanding ObamaCare Would Be Easier Than Passing Medicare-for-All?” by Jeff Spross
Vox’s “How to Build a Medicare-for-All Plan, Explained By Somebody Who’s Thought About It for 20 Years,” by Dylan Scott
The New York Times’ “The Best Health Care System in the World: Which One Would You Pick?” By Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt
The Nation’s “Medicare-for-All Isn’t the Solution for Universal Health Care,” by Joshua Holland
The New York Times’ “’Don’t Get Too Excited’ About Medicare for All,” by Elisabeth Rosenthal and Shefali Luthra
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