Buttigieg unveils Medicare plan preserving private insurance

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg released a health care platform Thursday that would expand Medicare coverage while allowing Americans to keep their private health insurance plans.

The South Bend, Ind., mayor’s “Medicare for All Who Want It” would aim to achieve universal coverage by introducing a public option and increasing subsidies for private insurance.

{mosads}The plan emphasizes choice to differentiate itself from the “Medicare for All” plan supported by more liberal White House hopefuls, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and more closely resembles former Vice President Joe Biden’s proposal.

“For years, Washington politicians have allowed the pharmaceutical industry, giant insurance companies, and powerful hospital systems to profit off of people when they are at their sickest and most vulnerable,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

“My ‘Medicare for All Who Want It’ plan will create a health care system that puts power in the hands of each American.”

Uninsured Americans would automatically be enrolled into the government insurance plan, while those with employer-provided insurance would be able to opt in.

The health care proposal also includes measures to address surprise billing and an out-of-pocket spending cap for Medicare.

After amassing impressive fundraising totals and surprising a Democratic primary full of more well-known politicians, Buttigieg has consistently been polling in single digits in national and early state surveys.