Powerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week
A powerful House committee announced on Tuesday that it will hold a hearing next week on Medicare for All, as well as several other proposals to expand health coverage, in a boost for backers of the progressive policy priority.
The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee will hold a hearing next Tuesday on the Medicare for All bill introduced by Reps. Pramila JayapalPramila JayapalPowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Democrats work to bring labor on board trade deal Tlaib introduces bill to repeal ‘opportunity zones’ MORE (D-Wash.) and Debbie DingellDeborah (Debbie) Ann DingellPowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Pelosi heading to Madrid for UN climate change convention Democrats demand FCC act over leak of phone location data MORE (D-Mich.), along with six other bills, including scaled-back, “public option” proposals.
ADVERTISEMENT
House committees have already held three hearings on Medicare for All so far this year, but the Energy and Commerce announcement is significant given that panel’s key role on health care.
The panel’s chairman, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.Frank Joseph PallonePowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Pelosi heading to Madrid for UN climate change convention Hillicon Valley: House to vote on anti-robocall bill | DHS issues draft order to boost agency cybersecurity | Apple updates maps to show Crimea as Russian territory | TikTok blocks teen after clip critical of China MORE (D-N.J.), had also been resistant to the idea of holding a hearing on Medicare for All, saying instead that he wanted to focus on strengthening ObamaCare.
“I’ve always been an advocate for Medicare for all or single-payer, but I just don’t think that the votes would be there for that, so I think our priority has to be stabilizing the Affordable Care Act, preventing the sabotage that the Trump administration has initiated,” Pallone said in November 2018, shortly after Democrats took back the House.
Jayapal, in particular, has been pushing for hearings on her bill for months.
Despite getting hearings, Medicare for All is not expected to get a vote in the House this year or next as Democrats increasingly focus on the 2020 White House battle.
Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiTop Democrat: ‘Obstruction of justice’ is ‘too clear not to include’ in impeachment probe Powerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Trump targets drug protections to save trade deal MORE (D-Calif.), while giving her support to airing ideas at a hearing, has been raising increasingly explicit warnings against the policy dominating her party’s presidential race, warning of its cost and that people do not want to lose their private insurance.
“I’m not a big fan of Medicare for All,” she said last month.
Click Here: cheap shoe stores
Medicare for All will also have to share the stage at the hearing with somewhat less ambitious proposals, including plans for optional government-run insurance backed by Reps. Antonio DelgadoAntonio Ramon DelgadoPowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Overnight Health Care: Democratic group to only endorse AG candidates who back abortion rights | Protect Our Care launches seven-figure ad buy to boost vulnerable Dems | California sues Juul Group launches seven-figure ad buy boosting vulnerable Democrats on drug prices MORE (D-N.Y.) and Rosa DeLauroRosa Luisa DeLauroPowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Overnight Health Care: Supreme Court sets date for Louisiana abortion case | Border Patrol ignored calls to vaccinate migrants against flu | DC sues Juul Border Patrol ignored recommendation to vaccinate migrants against the flu MORE (D-Conn.).
“Universal health care coverage has long been the North Star of the Democratic Party and it’s why the Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine seven legislative proposals that advance universal coverage for the American people,” Pallone and Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna EshooAnna Georges EshooPowerful House panel to hold Medicare for All hearing next week Democrats request info on Google-Ascension partnership Democrats demand FCC act over leak of phone location data MORE (D-Calif.) said in a statement on Tuesday.