Discussion of Jacob Hacker’s Medicare for America

On Wednesday, the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy held a discussion on the Medicare for America (MFA) proposal.  The panelists were Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D- CT), who proposed the bill along with Jan Schakowsky (D- Illinois) at the end of last year; ISPS Director Jacob Hacker; and Yale Law School visiting professor Allison Hoffman.  The MFA is one of many proposals that the current field of Democratic presidential hopefuls is backing.  The bill was modeled on Jacob Hacker’s “Public Option” plan, which proposes the idea that the federal government offers a health insurance plan that competes with ones from private companies. 

The current MFA seeks to be a universal healthcare bill that expands our current Medicare system but doesn’t scrap the employer health care system altogether. A key component of the plan would be to curtail and control the rising costs of health care.  The plan would be paid for by rolling back Trump’s tax cuts and increasing many other taxes.

A summary of the Medicare for America proposal can be found here.  The bill in its entirety can be read here. 

New Haven Independent coverage of the panel discussion is  here. 

And to watch the full video of the event, see here.