Experts in health policy and former aides anticipate that she will support reproductive rights, continue the Obama-Biden legacy, and forge her own path toward systemic change.
WASHINGTON Policy experts and past vice presidential aides believe that a Kamala Harris administration may have significant effects on the U.S. health care system, affecting everything from insurance coverage to medication prices and abortion rights.
First and foremost, Harris is anticipated to devote a great deal of attention on defending the right to an abortion, a weapon she has often used against Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Drew Altman, the president and CEO of the independent research organization KFF, predicted that “she will attack them on reproductive rights repeatedly and mercilessly.” “I believe she’s been playing a winning card thus far, and I anticipate seeing her really step it up.”
Top health care executive Andy Slavitt, who advised Obama and Biden informally, said Harris had an edge on abortion, a topic that is popular with Americans.
Slavitt said, “President Biden feels uncomfortable discussing it.” “However, I believe she has the ability to discuss it in a way that is relatable to people.”
Promoting and advancing Biden’s agenda has been Harris’s aim as vice president. But Harris would be free to present her own ideas for reforming the healthcare system if she were to win the Democratic presidential nomination, as she is expected to do.
Since the Harris campaign is still in its early phases, her team did not reply to a request for comment. However, her track record and her 2020 presidential candidacy provide some insights about her potential administration.
According to Georgetown University research professor and specialist in health policy Sabrina Corlette, “we can expect her to try to build on the Biden legacy of expanding coverage.” “And she will need to take action to reduce expenses.”
Corlette projected that Harris will try to preserve the Affordable Care Act and prolong the higher cost subsidies, which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. Additionally, she would probably collaborate with Congress to attempt extending Medicaid coverage in the ten states where the Affordable Care Act hasn’t been implemented. She may also continue Biden’s efforts to get Medicare to include coverage for seniors’ dental, vision, and hearing.
Even close supporters are still unsure of Harris’ strategy for striking a balance between adopting Biden’s stance and forging her own.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., a significant party member, said, “I have no idea,” but he added that she would be a wonderful fit for the Obama-Biden health care legacy. He answered, “She’s a part of it.”
In addition, Harris’s 2020 campaign shown stronger liberal instincts toward health care than Biden’s, which may also play a role.
Corlette speculated that “she might be more willing than the Biden administration to take on some of the sacred cows in health care.” It is evident that she endorsed “Medicare for All.” In the Senate, she backed public option bills as well. There may be increased support for a government-sponsored plan alternative for individuals, which has the potential to lower insurance premiums.
A few months into her presidential campaign, Harris endorsed the Medicare for All Act of 2019, spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The goal of the measure was to essentially eliminate commercial insurance and extend Medicare to cover all Americans. Progressives welcomed it, while moderates—including Biden—feared it would go too far by essentially outlawing private coverage. This caused a rift within the Democratic Party.
When Harris was questioned about how the plan may affect the private insurance that the majority of Americans had, the subject caught her off guard. Later, she proposed her own health care policy, which maintained a place for commercial insurance by relying on Medicare Advantage.
During the time, the incident made voters and Democratic elites wonder about her ideological stance. Later that year, Harris called it quits on her campaign, and when Biden selected her as his running mate, she accepted his suggestions.
She doesn’t seem to be a disturbance. Slavitt, a former official in the Obama and Biden administrations, said, “I don’t think she’s going to be pushing for some big, radical change.” “People will discuss how she endorsed Bernie’s measure. Many individuals supported Bernie’s measure for a number of reasons; some did so to express their belief that universal coverage is the best course of action, while others did so out of sheer conviction. In my opinion, she is more realistic.
Democrats are quite unlikely to bring back Medicare for All in this campaign, according to Altman of KFF, “because of their fear of Trump.”
Republicans are searching Harris’s prior remarks about health care for anything they can use against her.
In a June 2019 debate, ten Democratic contenders raised their hands in response to the question of whether or not the United States should cover unauthorized immigrants, according to a Republican strategist. Harris was one of them. Others on stage contended that ensuring widespread coverage would be both cost-effective and humanitarian, reducing the need for costly emergency treatment in the event of illness. Harris chose not to address this point.
Altman anticipates Harris will continue to tout current Biden administration accomplishments while on the campaign trail, especially the continuing implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.
One of the clauses, which took effect on January 1, 2023, caps the amount of insulin that seniors on Medicare may purchase out-of-pocket at $35 per month. The measure would also restrict Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket expenses for prescription medication at $2,000 beginning next year. It also fulfills a long-standing desire of Democrats and some Republicans for the federal government to finally be able to bargain for the lowest costs on the medications that Medicare spends the most money on.
The 10 priciest Medicare-eligible prescriptions, which include well-known heart and diabetes treatments, are the subject of negotiations between the government and pharmaceutical companies. It is anticipated that the revised rates will be announced by September and take effect in 2026.
When it came to several aspects of health care, including prices, more independent voters trusted Biden than Trump, according to a May KFF study. Harris wants to maintain the Democratic edge gained over the years.
It is a technique Democrats have employed against Republicans for years, but Altman said he expects Harris will tilt toward defending Medicare and Medicaid while drawing attention to GOP ideas that would partially privatize or slash the health care programs for older and lower-income Americans, respectively.
A portion of Project 2025’s suggestions, a comprehensive compilation of right-wing ideas to restructure the American government, are included in the GOP’s plans. Trump claims he knows “nothing” about it, despite the fact that it was drafted by former Trump administration officials in preparation of a second term.
He remarked, “I also suspect she will be the first to bring Medicaid into the picture,” claiming that other Republican organizations, such as the Republican Study Committee and [Project] 2025, are planning to severely limit and privatize the Medicaid program.
