“President Obama tried to move us forward with health care coverage by using a conservative model that came from one of the conservative think tanks that had been advanced by a Republican governor in Massachusetts,” Warren told the Wall Street Journal in a story published Tuesday . “Now it’s time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren, in a more stringent stance than she’s previously held, is telling fellow Democrats that rebuffing rollbacks to President Obama’s signature health care law is no longer enough. Warren is urging Democrats to campaign on a single-payer system for the midterm elections in 2018.


It’s a change from Warren’s previous stance on the issue, when she said it should be at the “top of the list,” but only if there was a push to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Otherwise, Mass Live reported, she wanted Congress to improve the Affordable Care Act. Mass. Republicans have accused Warren of flip-flopping on her support for single-payer health care.

Warren is up for reelection in 2018, when Democrats hope to take advantage of anti-Trump sentiment to make gains in the Republican-held House and Senate.

She made the comments as the future of Obamacare remained on rocky ground.

Senate Republicans are hoping to bring their Obamacare repeal bill to a vote before the Fourth of July recess, though the bill has been losing support as estimates on how it would affect the number of uninsured people were released by the Congressional Budget Office.

Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano.