Former Vice President Joe BidenJoseph (Joe) Robinette BidenTrump hits Biden as he hits 2020 trail Trump blasts union chiefs after Biden gets key endorsement Young Turks host says Warren has a media ‘buzz problem’ MORE on Monday called for giving everyone the option to buy into Medicare but stopped short of supporting the full “Medicare for All” proposal backed by Sen. Bernie SandersBernard (Bernie) SandersData dilemma: The challenge of separating the sound statistics from lies Young Turks host says Warren has a media ‘buzz problem’ Four 2020 Dems not yet qualified to participate in debates: report MORE (I-Vt.).
Biden framed his approach as giving people a choice between government-run insurance and private plans. In contrast, the proposal from Sanders, a rival presidential candidate, would require everyone to be on a government plan.
“Whether you’re covered through your employer or on your own or not, you all should have a choice to be able to buy into a public option plan for Medicare,” Biden said in a speech in Pittsburgh, the first major address of his presidential campaign, which he announced last week.
“Your choice,” Biden added. “And if the insurance company isn’t doing the right thing by you, you should have another choice.”
That Biden is stopping short of Sanders’s plan is not surprising given that the former vice president is expected to run in a more moderate lane than Sanders’s progressive approach. The move, though, could still open Biden up to disappointment from some Medicare for All supporters in the primary.
Biden’s position is similar to that of fellow candidates such as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegButtigieg’s campaign considering repeating McCain’s bus tour strategy Four 2020 Dems not yet qualified to participate in debates: report Poll finds Trump in dead head-to-head heats with four Dems in Texas MORE (D), who has called for “Medicare for all who want it.”
In contrast, Sanders and Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisYoung Turks host says Warren has a media ‘buzz problem’ Four 2020 Dems not yet qualified to participate in debates: report Poll finds Trump in dead head-to-head heats with four Dems in Texas MORE (D-Calif.) have been leaning the hardest into the idea of abolishing the current role of private insurers.
Biden was vice president when ObamaCare passed, and he praised that law.
“Affordable health care was a huge step forward, the ACA in our country,” Biden said.
“We have to stop this administration’s effort to gut it first, and then we have to move on and finish the job and make health care a right,” he added. “Health care is a right, not a privilege.”