Six of the Democratic contenders for president took the stage tonight to make their case to Iowa voters ahead of the caucuses. At the midpoint of the two hour long debate, moderated by CNN and the Des Moines Register, the controversial subject of healthcare was posed to the candidates.
An avid supporter of Medicare for All, and one who frequently avoids explaining how the overhaul legislation would be paid for, Sen. Elizabeth Warren cited the rising costs of premiums and deductibles for American families as leverage. She employed her usual fear mongering rhetoric, insisting that Medicare for All was vital to the future of our healthcare system as we know it.
In an assumed unintentional indiscretion, Sen. Warren railed against premium costs under Obamacare, a landmark piece of legislation she once fiercely supported.
Warren says the avg family paid $12,000 last year in out of pocket medical expenses. That sounds....high
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) January 15, 2020
Indeed, Sen. Warren is spot-on. The Affordable Care Act, to put it lightly, was a completely unprecedented, wide-reaching government overhaul of the American healthcare system. Former President Obama’s token achievement, if you could call it that, has caused premiums in the individual market to skyrocket, quality of care to diminish, coverage to be lost, wait times to increase and choice of healthcare options for Americans to become few and far between.
The flaw in Sen. Warren’s attempted zinger, a last-ditch effort to save her falling poll numbers ahead of the Iowa caucuses, is that it actually elevates the opposite side of her argument. If the Affordable Care Act, a modest piece of legislation compared to the overhaul that is Medicare for All, diminishes the overall quality of healthcare, why should any voters support Warren's proposal? The ACA has dismantled the healthcare system from a medical standpoint and skyrocketed costs for American families.
Indeed, Sen. Warren makes the most important point: government-run health insurance systems are economically devastating, and Medicare for All would be detrimental for the American economy and the families who contribute so much to it.