“Now is the time to put forward bold solutions that drive in that direction. Democrats should put forward legislation that lowers the Medicare age, expands Medicaid, creates a public option in every state…”
Expanding Medicare may be thought of as “driving in [the] direction” of single payer - but not the public option, where people can choose a government insurance plan.
A public option will divide up the insurance market so that private insurers insure healthy and - thus - high-profit-earning people, while government insures people with greater health needs at high cost to taxpayers.
And yet, as this article shows, the public option is being put back on the table by some progressives - including Sanders who recently floated the idea, as reported in CD’s “Sanders: ‘We’re Figuring Out How We Can Mount a National Campaign’ for Single Payer.”
Yes, “People, Not Politicans, Beat Healthcare Repeal” - and progressive movements, not progressive politicians will have to drive healthcare reform. Sanders is a politician - a progressive politician, but a politician.
I say politician not as a value judgment, but simply descriptively to point up the fact that, like any politician, he will only go as far as his electorate drives him. Like any politician, he will have to be pushed and “enabled” to demand progressive legislation; he cannot be thought of as an independent actor who carries out our vision of the good apart from mass demands.
Simply, Sanders, and any progressive politician, will be no stronger than the movement that drives them; it is up to us to push not only Democrats, but Sanders.
As Bodeswell linked re the public option in the above-cited article where Sanders weighed in: