Pelosi Aide To Insurance Execs: “Don’t Worry About Dems Pushing Medicare For All”
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Wed, 02/06/2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is probably starting to regret that vote to reinstate Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House.
As the “Democratic Socialist” Latina from Queens pushes her “green New Deal” and support for “Medicare for All” gathers steam among the ever-more-leftward leaning 2020 contenders for president, the Intercept reported on Wednesday that a top aide to Pelosi met with executives from one of the country’s largest health insurers and assured them that the Democrats had “strong reservations” about single-payer health care, and that the party’s agenda was more focused on lowering drug prices.
Wendell Primus, the Pelosi advisor in question, made the arguments during a PowerPoint presentation to insurance company executives where Primus pitched them on supporting Democratic efforts to shrink drug prices.
Pelosi adviser Wendell Primus detailed five objections to Medicare for All and said that Democrats would be allies to the insurance industry in the fight against single-payer health care. Primus pitched the insurers on supporting Democrats on efforts to shrink drug prices, specifically by backing a number of measures that the pharmaceutical lobby is opposing.
Primus, in a slide presentation obtained by The Intercept, criticized single payer on the basis of cost (“Monies are needed for other priorities”), opposition (“Stakeholders are against; Creates winners and losers”), and “implementation challenges.” We have recreated the slides for source protection purposes.
While Democrats are united on the idea of ensuring universal access to health care, Primus said, Pelosi and the leadership believe the best rout to universal coverage is through bolstering the ACA and lowering prescription-drug prices.
The Rest…HERE
