A House Ways and Means Committee hearing began Monday, led by Democrats who support government-run health care, that will likely be scrambling to address a decision last Tuesday by the nation’s largest doctor group to reject Medicare For All.
The American Medical Association, a 200,000-member physician group that has enormous lobbying power on the Hill, decided, very narrowly, to defeat a proposal to back Medicare For All.
Delegates rejected the move toward supporting a government-financed healthcare system as part of their annual meeting in Chicago. During the weekend, 40 liberal activists disrupted the conference to get the attention of members by holding a “die in” to have the group support government healthcare and leave the Partnership for America’s Health Care future.
Medicare For All, which has the backing of many prominent Democrats such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who recently introduced the measure in Congress, has been projected by the Mercatus Center to potentially cost $32 trillion over the next 10 years.
The AMA decided last Tuesday to continue backing an expansion of Obamacare and studies looking at a “public option”, in which government run health insurance is offered alongside private insurance options.
Obamacare is, however, still facing a legal challenge after being declared unconstitutional by a Texas federal court in December 2018. An appeal on that decision is scheduled to be heard in July in New Orleans.
Until then, physicians affiliated with the AMA have decided to proceed as if it is still the law of the land and back it and private insurance options instead of its more heavily regulated big brother, Medicare For All.
Via RedState
