Kaine, Bennet set to introduce 'Medicare X' plan to expand health care

[DonViejo]

By MARIANNE LEVINE 03/29/2019 12:07 PM EDT

As Democrats debate how best to expand health coverage, Tim Kaine and Michael Bennet are trying to ensure the party doesn’t swing too far to the left.

The Virginia and Colorado senators next week will reintroduce their “Medicare X” plan, which would create a new public option for health insurance — an idea that was originally part of Obamacare but was jettisoned for being seen, at the time, as too progressive.

Even as it moves past current law, their measure envisions far less sweeping change than “Medicare for All” proposals backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and some of their Senate colleagues running for president.

Kaine, a former vice presidential candidate, and Bennet, who is mulling his own 2020 run, view the plan — one of a handful of center-left proposals being floated — as an alternative option for progressives who want to expand health care availability but don’t want to eliminate private insurance.

In an interview, Kaine said many Americans report high levels of satisfaction with the insurance they receive through their employers and that the goal of the Medicare X proposal is to provide another, lower cost option to people through the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/29/bennet-kaine-medicare-health-care-1243267

[Skidmore]

1. I like both of these

good and decent men and would really like to see Bennet as a candidate.