2020 Democrats Debate Details of Medicare-For-All

Democratic presidential hopefuls over the last several weeks have been struggling to explain their various healthcare proposals to voters without turning them off as the details become clarified, reports National Public Radio . Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has emphasized that he backs Medicare-for-all, with private insurers expected to contribute. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) supports a public option, in the form of allowing people to buy into Medicaid, while deigning single-payer healthcare a long-term possibility. "Health reform is always more popular as a bumper sticker than as a piece of legislation," notes Larry Levitt at the Kaiser Family Foundation. He adds that when the details of Medicare-for-all start getting specified, voters' enthusiasm tends to slip. A January Kaiser survey showed nearly 70 percent of Americans favor Medicare-for-all if they are told it will eliminate premiums and out-of-pocket costs, but this support declines to about 40 percent if they hear it will entail higher taxes. Progressive healthcare overhauls also will likely inflate Republicans' derogatory labeling of Democrats as "socialists" as a way of depicting them as extremists.