Warren Emphasizes Transitional Period To ‘Medicare For All’ As Voters Stress About Industry Upheaval

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has taken heat for her support of rival Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) "Medicare for All" plan. In recent weeks, she's made a rhetorical pivot to emphasize that consumers will have a choice to opt-in to the program during the three-year transition period she's proposed.

Bloomberg: Warren Tempers Medicare For All Rhetoric, Calling It A ‘Choice’

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is starting to back away from a full-blown Medicare for All plan on the campaign trail, as she faces increased questions about whether her support for the proposal hurts her electability. After pushing the swift creation of a government-run health care system that would cover all Americans and eliminate private insurance, Warren is now emphasizing her calls for a transition period that would make it optional for most of her first term in office. (Egkolfopoulou, 12/17)

CNN: Elizabeth Warren Emphasizes 'Choice' On Health Care In A Rhetorical Shift

While the language is already a part of her transition proposal, it's a notable rhetorical shift on Warren's part after her moderate Democratic rivals -- namely South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- have criticized her plan that would eventually eliminate private health insurance.For the last two weeks, Warren has described the transition into her Medicare For All plan as a "choice" for Americans to try it. A new Fox News Poll released Sunday showed that support for government-run healthcare has dropped by double-digits among Democrats since October. At her town halls, Warren frequently fields questions from voters who tell her they've heard worries from friends or family about giving up their current private insurance. (Diaz and Reston, 12/16)

Meanwhile —

The CT Mirror: If Cautiously, Lamont Exploring Health Care Reform

The bar for health care reform was set high in Democratic presidential politics, first by Bernie Sanders and more recently by Elizabeth Warren. She proposed $20.5 trillion in new federal spending to replace private health insurance with her version of “Medicare for All,” though she quickly hedged on how long it might take. On the ground in Connecticut, one of the nation’s insurance capitals, the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont is part of a new bipartisan working group exploring incremental changes aimed at halting, or at least slowing, the rising costs of health insurance premiums, prescription drugs and other elements of health care. (Pazniokas, 12/17)

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