Content area
Full text
At a September gathering of health insurance industry executives, CMS administrator Seema Verma blasted various Democratic coverage proposals as "socialized medicine." But healthcare industry advisers say such messaging won't stop those proposals, and it doesn't begin to address the very real factors that make such proposals impractical.
Many healthcare insurers and providers have expressed concerns that adverse consequences would follow implementation of Democratic coverage expansion proposals, which range from expanding Medicare eligibility to adopting a single-payer system. Although these groups might be seen as being more aligned with the Trump administration's position in opposing such proposals, they also have very specific reasons for that opposition, which are not well reflected in the administration's messaging.
Verma continued with the administration's "socialized medicine" focus in September at a gathering of America's Health Insurance Plans, offering the following criticism of the Medicareexpansion proposals: "This will just increase taxes, thwart innovation, lead to rationing and decrease access to care - like it has in every other country that has tried socialized medicine."
That line of criticism is unlikely to dissuade voters from supporting various Medicareexpansion or single-payer proposals, according to industry advisers.
"One of the things that we have seen is that the argument that this will lead to 'socialized medicine' does not resonate," said Phillip Morris, a partner at Locust Street Group, which conducts polling for the healthcare industry. "We hear consistently that 'Just because Europe can do it, doesn't mean that we can't.'" And for that reason, he suggested, warnings about socialized medicine are...