Joe Biden Says He Would Veto a Medicare-for-All Bill as President
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Politics News Joe Biden
On MSNBC, Joe Biden said he would veto a supposed Medicare-For-All bill if it passed his desk as president, saying, “I would veto anything that delays providing security and certainty of healthcare being available now.” Some Biden supporters defended his claim, saying Biden would reject M4A on the grounds that it would leave a gap period where millions are left uninsured. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book against M4A—Bernie Sanders’ plan would not allow for a hiatus in coverage. As fact-checked by CNN back in July, a single-payer Medicare-for-All plan would not result in a supposed hiatus for the insured.
Joe Biden just said he would veto Medicare-for-All because it would “delay” healthcare coverage.
His own healthcare plan leaves 10 million people uninsured.pic.twitter.com/mpW6Z58miB
— jordan (@JordanUhl) March 10, 2020
Biden’s plan, which is meant as a build on Obamacare (which, according to Biden’s website, he’s a big fan of, pulling a truly bizarre quote from a rally in Iowa: “When we passed the Affordable Care Act, I told President Obama it was a big deal—or something to that effect.”), may potentially have these “gaps” Biden is alleging against Sanders’ M4A plan. This is all dependent on what Biden even means when he says “gaps” and “hiatus”—he’s never been particularly specific about it.
Either way, it’s misleading and a fallacy to claim that a M4A bill would allow for such a thing to happen. Biden’s own plan, according to Forbes, would cost exponentially more than Sanders’, a frequent point used to undermine Sanders’ plan despite Sanders explaining on multiple occasions how his M4A plan would be paid for in exhaustive detail.
i can’t believe bernie refuses to tell us how he’ll pay for—oh pic.twitter.com/n8JtCaVNBm
— olga lexell, beguiling bug (@runolgarun) March 8, 2020
Today is a make-or-break moment for Sanders, who has the opportunity to take Michigan’s 125 delegates. Michigan is a same-day registration state, so citizens can go out and vote even if they aren’t registered. The Sanders campaign is urging voters to go out and assist in Bernie taking the lead today.