Dr. Donald M. Berwick Ran Medicare Under Obama And Zealously Supports Medicare For All

[corbettkroehler]

To everyone decrying M4A as a political loser, a person who knows the numbers inside and out posted a strong retort this week in USA Today.

Stop fearmongering about 'Medicare for All.' Most families would pay less for better care.

The case for Medicare for All is simple. It would cover everyone, period. Done right, it would lower costs. And it would ease paperwork and confusion.

http://usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/10/22/medicare-all-simplicity-savings-better-health-care-column/4055597002

Donald M. Berwick, Opinion Contributor

October 22, 2019

With costs rising painfully, insurance companies denying care and nearly 30 million people still uninsured, America desperately needs an honest health policy discussion. That’s why it has been so disappointing over the past several weeks to watch multiple candidates parrot right-wing attacks on "Medicare for All," like claiming that it will greatly increase spending on health care or ringing alarms about raising taxes on the middle class.

The truth is the opposite: Medicare for All would sharply reduce overall spending on health care. It can be thoughtfully designed to reduce total costs for the vast majority of American families, while improving the quality of the care they get.

Best fix for a patchwork health system

What I saw convinced me that the Affordable Care Act was an essential step forward. But covering all Americans through a single-payer, federal insurance program would now be a wiser path. President Obama has said it himself: It is now time for "good new ideas like Medicare for All."

[MORE AT LINK]
?

[blm]

1. Obama has publicly spoken supportively of Med 4 all

Since 2018.

[JudyM]

4. Not loudly enough, apparently.

[Kurt V.]

2. Kicking it. thanks for the post

[beastie boy]

3. There isn't a single word in Dr, Berwick's opiniom that addresses the politics of M4A

My biggest fear is that Obamacare will be repealed and M4A will not be passed. This is why I am in favor of amending Obamacare towards M4A rather than ending it. Dr. Berwick has not alleviated my fears.

[Blue_true]

5. I support MFA, but I would be ok with your approach.

First we start with people that can't get reasonably priced insurance, get them insured and using a MFA type system. I believe that once such a system shows it's worth, more people that are in employer sponsored plans will want in and that can be leveraged to move toward full MFA.

[beastie boy]

6. Believe it or not, I also support M4A. But I support it as an established law, not as an ideal.