Biden-Sanders proposal calls for a Medicare-for-All program, signaling left shift in campaign

A joint policy document released by the Joe Biden campaign in cooperation with the failed Bernie Sanders campaign is calling for what amounts to a voluntary nationwide Medicare-for-All program, signaling e leftward shift Biden will likely have to adopt as the presidential election season heads into the fall. 

The "Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations" is the result of a collaborative process between the two camps meant to shore up progressive support for Biden as the race reaches a crucial stage. The 110-page document lays out numerous political goals and proposals for a Biden administration to pursue next year should the Democrat win the White House race in November. 

Among the recommendations is one calling for "achieving universal, affordable, quality health care," which closely mirror Sanders' controversial "Medicare-for-All" program. The program, if enacted, would have rendered most private insurance in the United States illegal and would have effectively compelled Americans to enroll in government insurance. 

The task force recommendations propose a similar program, though one that at the time of its adoption would be voluntary.

This "public option" would be functionally identical to Medicare. 

The document states such an option would "provide at least one plan choice without deductibles, will be administered by the traditional Medicare program, not private companies, and will cover all primary care without any co- payments and control costs for other treatments by negotiating prices with doctors and hospitals, just like Medicare does on behalf of older people."

"When the public option becomes law," the document continues, "it will be available on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for all Americans to choose; low-income people not eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled at no cost to them, and may choose to opt out if they wish."

The proposal raises a policy measure earlier floated as part of the Affordable Care Act, which was passed under the Obama-Biden administration. Congress opted not to include a public option as part of that law, something that progressives at the time had fought to establish. 

Biden on his campaign website echoes the demands of the policy document, calling for Americans to have access to "a public health insurance option like Medicare."

"Whether you’re covered through your employer, buying your insurance on your own, or going without coverage altogether, the Biden Plan will give you the choice to purchase a public health insurance option like Medicare," the site says.