A universal healthcare plan based on the coverage expansion from ObamaCare was released Thursday by the Center for American Progress (CAP).
The Hill reported that the leading center-left think tank enters a debate that has been accelerating among Democrats about how far to go in expanding on the Affordable Care Act with government-run insurance.
The CAP plan named Medicare Extra provides government-run health insurance based on Medicare for people that are currently on Medicare, Medicaid, or in the individual ObamaCare market. Also, employer-sponsored health insurance will be preserved, which is popular among many middle-class Americans. However, it would give employers and employees the option of joining the government-run, Medicare Extra option.
By leaving employer-sponsored insurance as an option, the plan does not go as far as Senator Bernie Sanders‘s “Medicare for All” proposal. But the CAP plan goes farther than other. The plan could lay the groundwork for Democratic efforts for universal healthcare if they manage to win both chambers of Congress and the presidency.
“Medicare Extra for All would guarantee universal coverage and eliminate underinsurance,” the 20-page plan states. “It would guarantee that all Americans can enroll in the same high-quality plan, modeled after the highly popular Medicare program. At the same time, it would preserve employer-based coverage as an option for millions of Americans who are satisfied with their coverage.”
According to The Hill, there is not yet an estimate of how much the plan would cost; CAP says it is working on one. But the plan proposes financing mechanisms like increasing taxes on high-earners, in addition to charging premiums to enrollees that are capped at a percentage of income and saving money on increased efficiencies from the new system.
The new CAP plan is meant to cover insurance for the 30 million people who are still uninsured and also to provide higher coverage for those that are currently “underinsured,” with high out of pocket costs.
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