Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) faced a tough exchange in Iowa from a local voter, who told the senator to lay off the people’s health care.
While speaking to voters at the Bickford Senior Living Center in Muscatine on Aug. 12, 91-year-old Roberta Jewell told Harris: “Leave our health care alone.”
“We don’t want you to mess with it,” Jewell added.
Harris said she doesn’t plan on messing with anybody’s health care.
“I want to make sure that it’s the way you like it,” she told Jewell. “I promise you that. I won’t mess with the health care that you have.”
Jewell also wondered who would pay for an expanded healthcare sector, asking Harris: “Whose gonna pay for it?”
“We’re going to pay for it because right now, let me tell you something, we’re all paying for health care for everyone,” Harris responded.
“No, we’re not,” Jewell said.
A slew of Democratic presidential contenders, including Harris, have endorsed some version of “Medicare-for-all,” a plan that would involve the government taking over more or all of the healthcare sector.
“Having a system that makes a difference in terms of who receives what based on your income is unconscionable,” she said.
Harris at one point indicated her “Medicare-for-all” proposal would include the end of private insurance but later said she would keep private insurance if companies followed “strict” government rules.
“Medicare works. It’s popular. Seniors transition into it every day, and people keep their doctors and get care at a lower cost. Let’s not lose sight that we have a Medicare system that’s already working. Now, let’s expand it to all Americans and give everyone access to comprehensive health care,” she wrote.
“Medicare for All will cover all medically necessary services, including emergency room visits, doctor visits, vision, dental, hearing aids, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment, and comprehensive reproductive health care services. It will also allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.”
Some polls have shown majority support for Medicare for All but much less support if respondents are told of specific aspects, such as that taxes will need to be raised for the trillions of dollars that the system would cost.
Seven out of 10 respondents said they supported a Medicare for all program that lets people choose between national insurance and private insurance.
Asked about a national health insurance program available for illegal immigrants, 62 percent said it was a bad idea.