7 tough questions single-payer advocates must answer before their ideas can become law

Single-payer health care is having a moment.

The unexpected success of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign, Democratic lawmakers searching for a new agenda in the Trump era, and the fact that Obamacare has revealed both the benefits and the limitations at a market-driven plan to expand health access have all combined to make a unified, government-run health plan seem like an attractive solution to our broken system.

Nearly every Senate Democrat with presid...

This is how Bernie Sanders wants to implement single-payer

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Medicare for All bill would eliminate out-of-pocket costs and deductibles for any resident of the United States, as well as build on the health care services covered by the Affordable Care Act, according to an executive summary and outline of the bill provided to ThinkProgress.

Sanders, a longtime single-payer advocate, will hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to detail his policy ideas for transforming the current health care landscape.<...

The grassroots activists who paved the way for single-payer health care’s political moment

If you’re a Democratic party star who’s being talked about as a potential 2020 candidate for president, you probably recently announced your support for single-payer legislation. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders will unveil his Medicare for All bill on Wednesday afternoon, flanked by high-profile co-sponsors including Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

It’s a sharp d...

The conservative quest to convince the Supreme Court that anti-gay discrimination is okay

Last week, conservatives from across the country chimed in to urge the Supreme Court to side with Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple. While the top headline was that President Trump’s Department of Justice was siding with Phillips, amicus briefs were also submitted from 19 states, several major religious organizations, dozens of lawmakers, and a slew of conservative think takes, advocacy organizations, and legal groups.

In...

Unpopular, unrealistic policies plague the Republican tax reform battle

Congressional Republicans returned to Washington from their August recess with a lot of things on their to-do list, chief among them Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and keeping the government running. But President Trump has also begun putting intense pressure on Republicans to take on tax reform.

Republicans must start the Tax Reform/Tax Cut legislation ASAP. Don't wait until the end of September. Needed now more than ever. Hurry!

— Donald J. T...

As Republicans try to undercut Obamacare, census data shows record low uninsured rate

The number of people without health insurance fell to 8.8 percent in 2016, or 28.1 million — a record low.

The uninsured rate between 2015 and 2016 decreased by 0.3 percent. In 2015, the percentage of people without health insurance coverage for the entire calendar year was 9.1 percent or 29 million. The U.S. Census Bureau announced its new findings Tuesday as lawmakers on Capitol Hill negotiated how best to stabilize the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual marketplace.

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The Senate is rehashing an old GOP idea during the Affordable Care Act stabilization talks

While some Democrats pivot to single payer legislation this week, the immediate health policy agenda item is shoring up the 2018 Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual marketplace in time for September 27, the final deadline for insurers to decide if they’ll participate or not. The Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee is resuming hearings Tuesday on how best to stabilize the marketplace this week, and one theme continues to dominate bipartisan negotiations: s...

Four more Democratic senators will co-sponsor Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill

Four more Democratic senators, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), have announced that they will co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Medicare for All bill.

Booker announced his support on NJTV news Monday afternoon, where he echoed comments made by Harris and others who have come out in support of the bill.

First on @NJTVNews: @CoryBooker co-sponsoring @SenSanders ‘Medicare for all’ bi...

How governors want to fix the finicky Obamacare marketplace

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace is less competitive than the drafters intended it to be. President Barack Obama once said the marketplace — where people can shop online for health insurance and compare plans — would be like an “Expedia for health care.” But if Expedia were anything like the ACA, people in some states would log on and see just one airline listed. In Virginia, they’d log on and see no listings at all.

To date, 1,476 counties are...