House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) on Friday endorsed efforts to lower the Medicare eligibility age and expand the program, as Democrats try to navigate internal tensions around a progressive push for “Medicare for All.”
During a conference in Denver about the future of the Democratic Party, Jeffries outlined the healthcare legislative priorities Democrats plan to tackle once he takes over as House Speaker in January.
Jeffries said the party must first undo Republican cuts to Medicaid funding and restore the Affordable Care Act’s temporary enhanced premium tax credits that Democrats provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While he stopped short of endorsing Medicare for All, Jeffries said Democrats need to go further than merely restoring what Republicans took.
The question is, will M4A pass? If it won’t then an incremental improvement is better than nothing. We could have had Carbon Cap-and-Trade decades ago, but we went for the full thing, got nothing and already have climate change.
Also again, while we’re discussing this as addressing healthcare, this move may be a move not to directly affect healthcare costs, but rather affordability for all Americans. If “M450+” becomes law, how many of the highest paying jobs will suddenly open up allowing every rung underneath to move up and increase their pay which directly addresses affordability of everything and not just healthcare?