Pick Your Poison: Will House Democrats choose Clinton or Sanders on Health Care?

Hillary Clinton has failed in her quest to unify Democrats behind her, and now faces the prospect of a contested convention that will be decided by party insiders rather than voters. House Democrats now have a choice to make: Will they risk the ire of the liberal base and stand by unpopular FBI target Clinton? Or will they turn to socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and his extreme policies?

In this first of a series of pieces highlighting the pair of undesirable choices placed before Democrats, we will examine the Clinton and Sanders positions on health care.

• Hillary Clinton has fully embraced Obamacare, even going so far as to refer to the grossly unpopular health care law as “HillaryCare.”
  • Obamacare remains extremely unpopular, with only 38.5% of voters supporting the law.
  • Experts are warning of double digit increases in premiums for Obamacare policies expected to hit consumers this November.
  • Even Democrats have begun to sour on Obamacare, as Sanders’ proposal for a government-run health care system has gained traction on the left.
• Bernie Sanders believes Obamacare didn’t go far enough, and has proposed a full government takeover of our health care system.
  • The Sanders plan would completely do away with private health insurance, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and force all Americans into a government-run health care system.
  • Sanders’ health care scheme is estimated to cost $13.8 trillion over its first decade, and would be paid for with massive tax increases on Americans of all income levels, as well as businesses.
• House Democrats will have to choose which path they prefer on health care: a continuation of President Obama’s widely unpopular signature policy, or an extreme socialist plan that would sharply raise taxes and leave hundreds of thousands out of work.

NRCC COMMENT: “House Democrats will have to choose whether to follow Hillary Clinton’s plan to continue on with Obamacare and all of its disastrous flaws, or Bernie Sanders’ plan for a full government takeover of our health care system. In either case, Democrats will once again have to answer to voters for their complete failure on health care policy over the past eight years.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

Sanders: ‘It will be a contested convention.’ “Bernie Sanders predicted Sunday that Hillary Clinton would not win enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and he delivered his most forceful call yet for superdelegates in states he’s won to consider throwing their support to him. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton ‘will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention.’” (Daniel Strauss, Politico, 5/1/16)

Clinton: ObamaCare was originally ‘HillaryCare.’ Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is out with a new defense of her healthcare record — rival Bernie Sanders may have helped write ObamaCare, but it was her idea first. ‘It was called HillaryCare before it was called ObamaCare,’ Clinton told a crowd of supporters at a country club in Vinton, Iowa. ‘I don’t want to start over.’” (Sarah Ferris, The Hill, 1/21/16)

Obamacare’s November surprise. “The last thing Democrats want to contend with just a week before the 2016 presidential election is an outcry over double-digit insurance hikes as millions of Americans begin signing up for Obamacare. But that looks increasingly likely as health plans socked by Obamacare losses look to regain their financial footing by raising rates.” (Paul Demko, Politico, 5/2/16)

Fired up by Sanders, Democrats shift left on health care. “With the Obama administration counting down its final year, many Democrats are finding less to like about the president’s health care law, unsure about its place among their party’s achievements. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for ‘Medicare for all’ seems to have rekindled aspirations for bigger changes beyond “Obamacare.” That poses a challenge for Hillary Clinton, who has argued that the health care law is working and the nation should build on it, not start over.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, 5/5/16)

What you should know about ‘BernieCare’ – Sanders’ proposed health overhaul. “The Vermont independent who’s seeking the Democratic nomination has been chastised by front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for espousing an all-inclusive, government-run system… Basically it means putting almost all the $3.2 trillion-a-year U.S. health care system in the hands of the federal government, with states acting as administrative subcontractors… Insurers would be relegated to selling supplemental coverage for services not covered under the single-payer plan. States could hire them to help administer coverage. But hundreds of thousands of jobs would disappear. Billions of dollars in shareholder equity would evaporate.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, 11/28/15)

Bernie and the high cost of ‘free’ health care. “Sanders’ own estimates suggest that BernieCare would cost roughly $13.8 trillion over its first decade of operation, roughly a 30 percent increase in federal spending. To pay for it, Sanders would sock us all with a big tax hike. He would increase the top income-tax rate to 52 percent and add hefty hikes in capital gains taxes and estate taxes. Corporations would face a new 6.2 percent payroll tax, which would mean either fewer jobs or lower wages. He would also hit every American with a new 2.2 percent income tax.” (Michael Tanner, New York Post, 1/31/16)

 Public Approval of Health Care Law: Real Clear Politics Average