What’s the difference between single-payer and Medicare-for-all?
Across the country, catchphrases such as “Medicare-for-all,” “single-payer,” “public option” and “universal health care” are sweeping state and federal political races as Democrats tap into voter anger about GOP efforts to kill the Affordable Care Act and erode protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Republicans say their party is committed to providing affordable and accessible health insurance, which includes coverage for pre-existing conditions, but with less government involvement. To complicate matters, some Democrats are simply calling for universal coverage, a vague philosophical idea subject to interpretation. Universal health care could mean a single-payer system, Medicare-for-all or building upon what exists today — a combination of public and private programs in which everyone has access to health care.
Keep in mind that Medicare isn’t actually a single-payer system. Medicare allows private insurance companies to manage care in the program, which means the government is not the only payer of claims. Others call for a “public option,” a government plan open to everyone, including Democratic House candidates.
To some voters, what politicians call their plans is irrelevant. They just want reasonably priced coverage for everyone. John Byron, a 73-year-old retired grandfather from Modesto, wants a government-run health care system that doesn’t include private insurance companies. What politicians call the program is irrelevant to him, he says. Sitting with his newspaper on the porch of a local coffee shop in Modesto, John Byron said he wants private health insurance companies out of the picture. The 73-year-old retired grandfather said he has seen too many families struggle with their medical bills and believes a government-run system is the only way. “I think it’s the most effective and affordable,” he said.
Linda Wahler of Santa Cruz, who drove to this Central Valley city to knock on doors for the Harder campaign, also thinks the government should play a larger role in providing coverage. But unlike Byron, Wahler, 68, wants politicians to minimize confusion by better defining their health care pitches. “I think we could use some more education in what it all means,” she said.
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