Healthcare Executive: Medicare for All, Public Option ‘Similarly Bad’

A healthcare executive said Thursday that both Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All and former Vice President Joe Biden’s public option are “similarly bad.”

Matt Eyles, the president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), said that both Biden and Sanders’ solutions would only worsen America’s healthcare system. Eyles contended that the public option plan would cripple the health insurance market.

“If you’re creating a government-run option that essentially leverages price controls, and relies on a government-administered system, that doesn’t create what would be a competitive playing field,” Eyles told the Hill.

“It’s more similar in some of the … Medicare for All-type approaches than … improving upon what the [Affordable Care Act] has,” Eyles added.

Biden’s would create a “public option,” allowing a government health insurance option to compete with private health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges.

Biden claimed Saturday that his healthcare plan will “make healthcare more affordable” and expand health insurance coverage for millions of Americans that do not have coverage under Obamacare.

AHIP serves as a member of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, which has fought both Medicare for All and Biden’s public option plan. The American Medical Association (AMA) announced last week that they will leave the Partnership to focus instead on solutions, such as fixing Obamacare by increasing ACA subsidies.

Eyles said that both proposals would not solve America’s healthcare problems.

“It’s all variations on a theme, which is a much greater government role directly within the health care system,” Eyles charged. “We’re viewing Medicare for All and all of these other … variations on it, as similarly bad.”

The healthcare executive also told the Hill that Medicare for All would cause “disruption” to the healthcare industry.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a sponsor of a popular House Medicare for All bill, admitted in May that one million health insurance workers will get “displaced” under the single-payer healthcare proposal.