Warren says getting to ‘Medicare for All’ will take 3 years

WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren announced Friday that she would expand public health insurance during her first 100 days in office, but wouldn’t push for passage of a “Medicare for All” program until the third year of her presidency, a timeline that acknowledges how tough it will be to shift to a system of government-run health care. It includes dramatic actions to lower drug prices, a Medicare for All option available to everyone that is more generous than any plan proposed by any other presidential candidate, critical health system reforms to save money and save lives, and a full transition to Medicare for All.” Even as she continued to praise Medicare for All, though, Friday’s announcement represented a move toward the political middle on an issue that has been one of the most important to voters in the Democratic primary — which begins Feb. 3 in Iowa. Warren is now trying to muddy the waters even further,” Bedingfield said in a statement, adding that the latest proposal would “delay the introduction of her full Medicare for All proposals as far as three years into her term, after the midterms — a move that doesn’t exactly address the urgency of now.” Buttigieg spokeswoman Lis Smith called it “a transparently political attempt to paper over a very serious policy problem, which is that she wants to force 150 million people off their private insurance — whether they like it or not.” Taking years to get to Medicare for All would give Warren time to convince people happy with their current, private insurance to accept a fully government-funded system. “Warren’s proposals to shore up the Affordable Care Act, lower drug prices, and create a public option would still provide substantial health care cost relief for people,” said the Kaiser Foundation’s Levitt.