Thread by @AbdulElSayed

I support #MedicareForAll. It's why I supported @berniesanders. It's why I co-authored "Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide" w/ @micah_johnson_.

And it's also why I agreed when Bernie asked me to join the Unity Task Force on healthcare.

A thread:

1/

Joe Biden isn't Bernie. He does not support #MedicareforAll—we deeply disagree on this.

But he does support universal coverage, expanding public coverage, reining in Pharma, & health equity—things we DO agree on.

Our Task Force recommendations build upon these aims.

2/

Our Task Force worked hard & I'm grateful to the team & Co-Chairs @PramilaJayapal & @vivek_murthy.

We didn't agree on everything, but we came to recommendations that will yield one of the most progressive Dem campaign platforms in history-tho we have further yet to go.

3/

Below is a run down of some of the Task Force's key recommendations:

In view of #COVID, we recommend that all testing, treatment, & vaccines for #coronavirus--or any health crisis--be FREE, regardless your immigration status or ability to pay.

4/

We rein in #pharma's greed by:

1) Allowing Medicare to FINALLY negotiate Rx drugs FOR ALL AMERICANS
2) Using Rx drug prices in other high-income countries to make sure Americans don't pay more
3) Ending Big Pharma's never ending monopoly extensions

5/

We build on and expand Biden's public option to make it:
- truly public (Medicare administered)
- more generous (cutting out of pocket in half)
- automatic for low-income Americans
- Inclusive of a zero deductible option

It is now more generous than Medicare.

6/

We lower the Medicare age to 60 & improve support for holes in the program like vision, hearing, & dental coverage & long-term services & supports.

We also expand Medicaid access to people in states where GOP never expanded medicaid.

7/

When I ran for Governor in MI, I ran on a state-based single-payer system that should have been subsidized by the federal gov't through the ACA's 1332 waiver program.

Our Task Force Recs reinforce support for those subsidies for state-based universal insurance programs.

8/

To uproot health disparities that take Black & Brown livesfar too early, we call for an Executive Order for a White House-led effort to assess our gov’t’s impact on structural & institutional inequity & seek to solve them.

It comes with real teeth & resources.

9/

We recommend fully funding the Indian Health Services & investing in resources that provide critical infrastructure to support health in Indian Country...

And eliminating arbitrary barriers, like "public charge" & 5-yr waiting period that keep immigrants from healthcare.

10/

We recommend repeal of the Hyde amendment & codifying Roe as the law of the land to protect a woman's right to choose...

and eliminating discrimination against LGBTQIA+ Americans in healthcare & federal support for healthcare services...

11/

To take on COVID-19, we recommend a full reinvestment in federal, state, and local public health, including an additional $10 billion a year to support 100,000 more public health workers.

We also recommend DOUBLE funding for federally-qualified health centers...

12/

We recommend expanding the National Health Service Corps to increase the diversity of our healthcare workforce...

& doubling the Community Health Worker force & invest in 600,000 new healthcare providers for long-term services & support--all earning $15+/hr + benefits.

13/

To expand mental health services & substance use treatment, we eliminate the barriers to providing these services in out-patient clinics & FQHCs & expand counseling support in schools.

14/

Taken together, this is the most progressive Democratic healthcare platform in American history…

yet it's still far from what I believe ought to be our goal: #MedicareForAll.

So where does that leave us as progressives?

Honestly, I think the choice is clear:

15/

We can choose to fight like hell through November...& then for the next 4 years to make sure we turn this platform AND MORE into law under a Biden admin, expanding public coverage & building toward #MedicareForAll, which I believe will be US health policy someday soon...

16/

Or we can spend the next four years fighting against ACA repeal, fighting against federal neglect of the #COVID19 #pandemic, fighting against discriminatory health policy such as the "public charge" rule or restrictions on #birthcontrol, #abortion, & #PrEP coverage...

17/

To me, the question of policy always comes back to the folks I got to serve as Health Director in Detroit. They go without healthcare coverage, die at 2.5-3x the rate of preventable diseases--like #COVID19, breathe polluted air & drink poisoned water...

18/

I support #MedicareforAll because I believe it would benefit them most...

which is the same reason I support @JoeBiden in this next election....

And I will keep working toward a world where Medicare for All is the law of the land.

Right now, they're the same thing.

19/19