CMS Administrator Stepping Up Criticism of Medicare for All

ANCOR is sharing this Fox News interview with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma because the Medicare for All conversation is increasingly gaining political traction, making the Trump Administration’s response relevant. Some Congressional Medicare for All proposals now include long-term supports and services (LTSS), including those for people with disabilities. While ANCOR does not have a position on Medicare for All, we have been responding to Congressional inquiries on how such proposals could affect people with disabilities.

As shared by the Fox News Network:

“The nation’s top Medicare official said on ‘Fox & Friends’ Wednesday that Democrats’ “Medicare-for-all” proposal amounts to “the biggest threat to the American health care system,” claiming the policy would lead to worse care and longer wait times.

‘I’ve been saying that Medicare-for-all is the biggest threat to the American health care system,’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma said. ‘What we’re talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program.’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his latest Medicare-for-all plan last week — legislation that was endorsed by other 2020 Democratic hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, N.Y., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. A similar bill has been introduced in the House.

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But Verma noted that socialized health care systems in other countries have problems of their own — including long wait times and poor care — leading citizens to travel to the U.S. for drugs and care they can’t access at home.”