Biden Falls Back into Obama-Era Habits With 'You Can Keep It' Healthcare Promise
It appears that former Vice President Joe Biden, a front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, is returning to catchphrases of old in his latest attempt to boost his polling numbers.
During AARP’s presidential forum in Iowa, Biden tried to differentiate his health care plan from those of far-left candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders who have taken a socialist approach with “Medicare for All” plans.
“If you like your health care plan, your employer-based plan, you can keep it. If in fact you have private insurance, you can keep it,” Biden said, according to The Hill.
Hmm, where have we heard that before?
In 2009 and 2010, former President Barack Obama used the now-infamous slogan “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” when pitching the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” to the American public.
Mimicking that catchphrase may have been a mistake for Biden: Politifact torched Obama’s fake news slogan back in 2013, branding it the “Lie of the Year.”
“You get your choice, you get full coverage … I think it’s the quickest, most reasonable, rational and best way to get to universal coverage,” Biden explained to the forum audience.
While candidates like Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are promoting “Medicare for All,” Biden wants Americans to understand that such an approach will bring an end to the ACA, which he believes is still popular.
“I understand the appeal of Medicare for All, but folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of ObamaCare, and I’m not for that,” Biden said in a video announcing his plan.
Here’s the full healthcare announcement by Biden, seen in the video clip below.
The Affordable Care Act was a historic achievement. 20 million Americans gained coverage. Over 100 million with pre-existing conditions finally got protection. We can’t tear it down.
So today, I’m releasing my plan to Protect & Build on Obamacare: https://t.co/RIhlOcOWK8 pic.twitter.com/laDUcIhRjM
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 15, 2019
While “Medicare for All” would be an economic disaster for the United States, Biden’s plan wouldn’t be any better, as it would only build on the Obamacare catastrophe.
Obama’s slogans were lies. Not only did premiums skyrocket for many Americans, but shifting policies and plans cost many individuals their coverage completely. Obamacare hurt far more people than it helped.
Yet Biden still supports it.
Not only does the ironically-named Affordable Care Act need to be scrapped, but the health insurance industry also demands an injection of free-market capitalism. Healthy competition is the key to success.
Americans need health insurance companies to fight to earn their business: that will both drive down prices and improve quality of care.
Purchasing health insurance should be no different than purchasing anything else in any other industry. If the government can take control of one market, there’s no telling what it may do with others.
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