The task force proposes doubling down on COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, as well as fixing the broken health care system that has exacerbated the pandemic. (Photo: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg)
As the Trump administration continues its crusade to do away with the Affordable Care Act, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is planning a strong counter-attack.
Biden has thus far taken a more moderate approach to health care reform, including an expansion of the ACA and Medicare. But in an attempt to appeal to more-liberal voters, in May, he brought in the father of "Medicare for All," Sen. Bernie Sanders and others to create a "unity" taskforce.
"While Joe Biden and I, and our supporters, have strong disagreements about some of the most important issues facing our country, we also understand that we must come together in order to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history," Sanders said in a statement.
Recently, the task force has released its 110-page proposal outlining health care reform, climate change action, education reform, and other key policy topics.
The updated policy includes the previously floated idea of lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60, as well as some new additions, including a public option and increased scrutiny of health care mergers. The public option would be available to anyone, regardless of whether they're eligible for employer-sponsored coverage, and the plans would cover primary care services with no deductibles or copays.
The task force also addressed the current COVID-19 pandemic and criticized the Trump administration's response. "The COVID-19 pandemic has made this difference in values painfully, brutally clear," they wrote. "President Trump has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, bullied governors for enacting life-saving public health measures, and left our frontline health care heroes without the equipment they need to protect themselves and the American people."
The task force proposes doubling down on testing and contact tracing, as well as fixing the broken health care system that has exacerbated the pandemic. A set of emergency measures would be put into place until such time as they are no longer needed, such as increased support for COBRA: "For people who risk losing their insurance coverage if they lose their jobs in this pandemic, Democrats believe the federal government should pick up 100 percent of the tab for COBRA insurance, which keeps people on their employer-sponsored plans."
On the topic of drug prices, the plan reiterates many strategies currently being proposed: "Democrats will take aggressive action to ensure that Americans do not pay more for prescription drugs than people in other advanced economies. We will empower Medicare to at last be able to negotiate prescription drug prices for all public and private purchasers—for families and businesses, as well as older Americans—no matter where they get their coverage. We will also ensure and enforce that the price of brand-name and outlier generic drugs cannot rise faster than the inflation rate. We will cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and ensure that effective treatments for chronic health conditions are available at little or no cost."
Other plan details include:
- Setting a $15 minimum wage for health care workers
- Addressing racial inequality in health care
- Capping out-of-pocket drugs cost for Medicare enrollees
- Increasing investment in public health and the CDC
- Expanding access to mental health and substance abuse treatment
- Expanding long-term care services
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Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
