1. America’s healthcare crisis is destroying lives - killing people, bankrupting people, oppressing people. The need to act is paramount. How to act is the most critical platform difference between candidates. Running on Medicare For All without the numbers is unacceptable.
2. Our healthcare plan can’t be de-prioritized while we figure it out. There is a clock ticking in the lives of the vulnerable and a clock ticking until the next election cycle and unknown majorities, assuming we even have the needed votes in 2020.
3. Primary voters have an extremely important decision to make. They can’t be expected to do so without answers and numbers to apply to their own lives. The “don’t worry, it will be better for you in the long run” response is simply not sufficient and rather condescending.
4. It’s clear that Democratic voters want universal access to affordable healthcare, but they need to actively weigh the approaches and how it affects the nation and their personal bottom-line. Not to mention our $984 billion deficit.
5. People need to be able to apply actual numbers to their check stubs. They need to examine their existing medical needs and costs. What will be covered? What will they net each week after taxes? How will small business owners be impacted?
6. There is no way to make an informed decision without knowing how we will carry the burden of the cost - and the cost/benefit is going to look different depending on your current situation. We are in crisis. We need a plan to evaluate, not a nebulous idea for a plan.
