Sanders revs up ‘public option’ fight after Aetna leaves ObamaCare [View all]

[grahamhgreen]

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/291644-bernie-sanders-sees-new-life-in-public-option-fight

The senator said he will reintroduce his legislation to create a “Medicare-for-all” system in the next session of the Senate, “hopefully” after Democrats regain control of the chamber.
“In my view, the provision of healthcare cannot continue to be dependent upon the whims and market projections of large private insurance companies whose only goal is to make as much profit as possible,” Sanders said in a statement Tuesday. “That is why we need to join every other major country on earth and guarantee health care to all as a right, not a privilege,” he said.

Aetna announced late Monday it would pull out of ObamaCare exchanges in 11 states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas. The company’s CEO, Mark Bertolini, cited $200 million in losses over the past few months as a major reason for the move. The insurer’s high-profile departure is a major blow to the law. Still, longtime public option proponents believe they have a new opportunity to take aim at the healthcare law's heavy reliance on insurers for coverage.

Sanders, who battled Hillary Clinton in a close Democratic presidential primary before conceding last month, has long fought for a government-run insurance plan, which he says would wrest healthcare coverage out of the control of private insurers. In his statement Tuesday, Sanders slammed insurers like Aetna for pulling out of the exchanges “despite the Affordable Care Act bringing them millions more paying customers than ever before.”

“These companies are more concerned with making huge profits than ensuring access to healthcare for all Americans,” he said.

Liberal Democrats have been increasingly vocal about the need for a public option push next year, with growing hopes that Clinton will win the White House and Democrats will take back the Senate. Sanders is hoping to become chairman of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which would give him a high podium in a healthcare fight.

Still, the fight would be taxing for a Democratic Party that has painful memories about the ObamaCare battle in 2009 and 2010. The fight over the law — which passed without any Republicans — was a key factor in the GOP wave the 2010 election cycle, costing the Democrats their majority in the House.

Looking forward to Hillary's leadership on this important issue.

Can we be sure that she will support at least a public option and lowering Medicare eligibility to 55 as she has stated?

EDIT: from her recent speech - "I’ve also said I will defend and improve the Affordable Care Act, and for me, that includes giving Americans, in every state, a choice of a public option health insurance plan that will help everybody afford coverage, it will strengthen competition, and drive down costs."