Continued deliberations about expanding insurance coverage

Vox published a piece about a Democratic senator from Hawaii wanting to allow more individuals the choice to buy into Medicaid plans. The article raises some interesting points. First, the article points out that Medicaid prices (widely known to be low enough that many providers opt out of accepting Medicaid) are 72 percent of Medicare prices (which the article says is less than corresponding prices from private insurers). The proposal would like to raise Medicaid prices to be comparable to those of Medicare -- it would be interesting to know how those premiums (and benefits) compare with options from private insurers. Second, it highlights how the Democratic party is deliberating multiple options to improve the current insurance coverage landscape in the US: in addition to this proposal (which allows, but does not require, states to participate), Democrats in the House of Representatives are considered a single-payer plan, while Senator Sanders is expected to release a different single-payer proposal. The article notes that the Democratic party is using its time as the minority party to consider competing plans in preparation for when they do get a chance to propose significant healthcare reform.

Engagement on this issue contrasts sharply with the Republican rhetoric during President Obama's administration. If Republicans had considered a similar strategy at that time, they might have been able to offer a more cohesive plan than what happened recently.