WASHINGTON — Vying to become House speaker in a few months, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries outlined four items on the agenda that he said would enjoy “uniform Democratic support” and advance the party’s goal of “making life more affordable.”
The first two were about healthcare, and all four set a direct contrast with President Donald Trump.
“We have to reverse the Medicaid cuts. We should extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday in response to a question from NBC News. “We should restore congressional authority as it relates to tariffs, because the Trump tariffs are making life more expensive for the American people. And we should end, decisively, if it’s still going on, Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East.”
While there’s agreement on restoring the Medicaid and ACA funds that were undone by Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, there are divisions inside the Democratic Party about what its own healthcare agenda should be.
Ocasio-Cortez is part of a large and influential faction on the left that wants to pursue a “Medicare for All” system that would diminish — if not abolish — private insurance and give the government power to negotiate prices of medication and services downward. Many moderate Democrats have rejected that idea in favor of less disruptive changes, although the center-left hasn’t coalesced around a preferred vision. One outside center-left group floated “free primary care for all” as a way to break the stalemate between supporters of a single-payer Medicare for All system and of focusing on building on the current ACA.
So, the party establishment is behind proping up their donors? The entire developed world has universal health-insurance. Even Mexico has it. But not the people in the US? That is one thing that would drastically improve the lives of the American people. Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year.
Our government hates us. This is the s#it that lead up to DJT in the first place. Going back to half measures like this is a recipe for:
Especially since the AI job losses.
This is why people are frustrated with politicians and Jeffries in particular. No, we don’t want the goal to be to make life “more affordable.” We’re well past “more affordable.” Saving $5 on a $15,000 hospital bill is “more affordable.” No, we want life to be “affordable.” That’s single-payer system. Maybe “more affordable” is the temporary compromise until we finish a clearly defined path to “affordable.” But it’s not a goal.
The mere fact that he’s out here talking about extending tax credits and using weasel words is utterly demoralizing also because it suggests this is the starting position which he’s going to negotiate down from later.
He can’t lead on policy, he’s certainly not following the voters’ stated wishes, so it would be great if he could kindly get out of the way.
But think of how much better your life will be when the modest costs of primary care are taken away. Sure, you’ll still go bankrupt when that primary care finds something and refers you to specialized treatment, but before that you’ll be saving upwards of $150 a year. Or probably more like $25 if you have insurance, because they’re sure not going to reduce premiums to make up the difference.