Turns out Joe Biden and the Democrats have Medicare expansion up their sleeve too
Thursday morning brought some much needed good news for Democrats on multiple fronts – HR1 finding new support, President Biden signed legislation officially recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, and the Supreme Court once again decided that Obamacare is the law of the land. One of the many legislative challenges that Senate Democrats were facing up to this point was how they would be able to find support for Medicare expansion while facing accusations of not getting it done fast enough.
It’s safe to say that this was the moment Chuck Schumer was waiting for. Trying to expand Medicare just before a long shot legal battle could force the Democrats to rebuild from scratch could have been a massive debacle for them yet again. Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act for the third time, despite the number of conservative justices Republicans tried to pack the court with, it’s the perfect moment for Democrats to expand Medicare to cover all people over age 60, and increase benefits to include vision and dental – something that could happen through using the process of reconciliation that Republicans can’t filibuster.
This is also a big loss for the GOP – as repeal has been the centerpiece of their platform for over a decade and a failure to remind them of, as we go into special elections and the midterm. It’s also an incentive to expand the reach of Democrats in state legislatures – some of which are up for re-election this year, as every seat will matter when it comes to improving American healthcare.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making