Will Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz commit to Enacting National Improved Medicare for All?
Harris has flip-flopped on S.1655 to appease her Commercial Health Insurance industry donors in the past. Will Harris and Walz now commit to Single Payer together?
Tim Walz is now in the running.
What is his “view on healthcare” specifically?
Do Walz’s “views on healthcare” include support for National Improved Medicare for All and enacting The Medicare for All Act - S.1655?
The Minnesota Nurses Association endorses Single Payer; Healthcare for All Minnesota endorses Single Payer; Physicians for a National Health Program Minnesota endorses Single Payer; University of Minnesota Women in Medicine endorses Single Payer; Students for a National Health Program endorses Single Payer…and business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers, contractors, consultants, families and savvy ethical CFOs across red, blue and purple states all endorse Single Payer. Despite it, the Statewide Single Payer Minnesota Health Plan and the Minnesota Public Option have both been shelved for incremental, non-comprehensive health policies.
“Walz’s foray into politics came later in life: Born and raised in West Point, Neb., a small rural town, after high school he enlisted in the Army National Guard, where he would serve for the next 24 years. After losing his father to lung cancer at age 19 — which he would later say shaped his views on health care — Walz enrolled in Chadron State College in Nebraska and graduated with a teaching degree in 1989.”
— New York Times
What is S. 1655?
S.1655 establishes a Single Payer National Health Program that is administered by the United States of America Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, home- and community-based long-term care, gender affirming care, and reproductive care, including contraception and abortions.
The bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and other charges for covered services, with the exception of prescription drugs. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program.
Health insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. Private Commercial Health Insurance companies that currently operate like investment firms and Private Equity groups will no longer be permitted to engage in Denial of Care and the business model of Harm-for-Profit will be abolished. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs, TRICARE, or the Indian Health Service. Additionally, state Medicaid programs must cover certain institutional long-term care services.
S. 1655 also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs and establish a formulary.
Individuals who are age 18 or younger may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into a transitional plan or an expanded Medicare program at this time, depending on age. The bill's program must be fully implemented four years after enactment.
Lifelong access to healthcare without barriers is essential to leveraging human potential, business, disabled persons, elders, veterans and all residents.
The Next 100 Days
Are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz truly progressive, or regressive on healthcare policy?
Will UnitedHealth Group lobbyists own and control Harris and Walz with campaign finance quid pro quo?
Can Lina Kahn hold the antitrust line with a company facing multiple felonies and class actions? Nobody at UnitedHealth Group has been indicted or convicted by the United States Department of Justice since the fall of 2023 for insider trading, antitrust crimes, coercion or cyberattack prevention negligence yet.
Will this Oval ticket continue business-as-usual by perpetuating the Commercial Health Insurance Denial of Care Harm-for-Profit business model?
Will they make history in the name of Public Health? Or, will they choose to tow the status quo line?
This editor already knows the answers.
I hope they prove me wrong.