Harris: Private Health Insurance Has Delays, ‘Let’s Eliminate All of That’ and ‘Move On’

During a town hall on CNN on Monday, Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-CA) expressed support for Medicare for all and stated that the idea of Medicare for all is that “you don’t have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require. … Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on.”

Harris began by expressing support for Medicare for all. She added, “It is inhumane to make people go through a system where they cannot literally receive the benefit of what medical science can offer. Because some insurance company has decided it doesn’t meet their bottom line in terms of their profit motivation.”

Moderator Jake Tapper then asked, “So, just to follow up on that, and correct me if I’m wrong, to reiterate, you support the Medicare for all bill…I believe it will totally eliminate private insurance. So, for people out there who like their insurance, they don’t get to keep it?”

Harris responded, “Well, listen, the idea is that everyone gets access to medical care, and you don’t have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require. Who of us has not had that situation where you’ve got to wait for approval, and the doctor says, well, I don’t know if your insurance company is going to cover this? Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett