Healthcare and Insurance Industries Mobilize to Kill 'Medicare for All'

The U.S. healthcare and insurance industries are prepping a massive lobbying effort to defeat Medicare-for-all proposals floated by Democrats, reports the New York Times . The lobbyists are pushing the concept that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is performing reasonably well and should be enhanced, not repealed by the GOP or replaced by Democrats with a new public program. The lobbying coalition alleges that Medicare for all will require tax hikes, and give politicians and bureaucrats control of medical decisions currently made by doctors and the people they treat. Among the coalition's recently-joined members are the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) calls such a criticism "a knee-jerk reaction to anything that expands Medicare," stressing that a buy-in option is especially important for Americans in the 50 to 60 age bracket. Although the coalition is vehemently opposed to any proposals that sound like socialized medicine, it wants to expand Medicaid under the ACA in Texas, Florida, and other holdout states.