In 2008, no leading Democratic presidential candidate backed single-payer. In 2020, all of them might.
Following the failures by Republicans to dismantle former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), Senator Bernie Sanders' "Medicare-for-all" single-payer health care plan has become amazingly popular among Senate Democrats, and House Democrats are behind a plan -- the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act -- by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).
“When an idea catches fire, when people see the justice of that idea, it moves very, very quickly. As we work to create a country where health care is a right to all, remember: the momentum is on our side,” -- Senator Bernie Sanders.
“First, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) announced her plans to co-sponsor it; then Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined in. According to reporting by my Vox colleague Jeff Stein, Cory Booker (D-NJ) has staff working with Sanders and others on formulating the bill.
“Warren, Sanders, Harris, and Booker are arguably the most famous and most-admired Democratic senators in the country among the party’s base; the betting markets give a 55 percent chance that one of them will be the 2020 nominee for president.
“Other contenders are getting on board with single-payer — or “Medicare for all,” where the federal government would provide health insurance for every American financed through taxes — as well. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) declared, “We should have Medicare for all,” at a rally against Republican attempts to roll back Obamacare. Meanwhile 117 House Democrats (over 60 percent of the caucus) have co-sponsored HR 676, the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act offered every Congress by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).
“This is what an emerging party consensus looks like. Over time, some issues become so widely accepted within a party as to be a de facto requirement for anyone aspiring to lead it. No Democrat would run for president, or even for House or Senate minority leader, without supporting the DREAM Act. No Republican would try for a leadership position without supporting repeal of the estate tax.
“And the way things are going, soon no Democratic leader will be able to oppose single-payer.”
By Dylan Matthews
