The Impossibility of Bipartisan Healthcare Compromise

The human carnage inflicted by this bloody quagmire of corruption and waste is nigh unimaginable. (Photo: Screenshot)

The Impossibility of Bipartisan Healthcare Compromise

Democrats should write a health-care reform bill so aggressive that it drastically weakens the profitability of Big Medical, and drives many of them out of business entirely. If you cannot join them, beat them

If there's one thing political centrists claim to value, it's compromise. It's "the way Washington is supposed to work," writes Third Way's Bill Schneider. "Centrists, or moderates, are really people who are willing to compromise," The Moderate Voice's Robert Levine tells Vice.

What does this mean when it comes to health care and the developing lefty push for Medicare-for-all? The fresh new centrist health-care organization, the Partnership for America's Health Care Future (PAHCF), says it is a "diverse, patient-focused coalition committed to pragmatic solutions to strengthen our nation's health-care system." In keeping with the moderate #brand, PAHCF may not support Medicare-for-all. But perhaps they might support a quarter-measure compromise, like allowing people under 65 to buy into Medicare?

"Moderation" is routinely a cynical veneer over raw privilege and self-interest.

Haha, of course not. Their offer is this: nothing.

However, "moderation" is routinely not even that, but instead a cynical veneer over raw privilege and self-interest. The American health-care system, as I have written on many occasions, is a titanic maelstrom of waste, fraud, and outright predation -- ripping off the American people to the tune of $1 trillion annually.

And so, Adam Cancryn reports on the centrist Democrats plotting with Big Medical to strangle the Medicare-for-all effort:

Deep-pocketed hospital, insurance, and other lobbies are plotting to crush progressives' hopes of expanding the government's role in health care once they take control of the House. The private-sector interests, backed in some cases by key Obama administration and Hillary Clinton campaign alumni, are now focused on beating back another prospective health-care overhaul, including plans that would allow people under 65 to buy into Medicare. [Politico]

Read the full article here.

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

© 2023 The Week