A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Americans trust Democrats over Republicans on healthcare by 38% to 25%, giving the party an issue advantage as it seeks to win the House, NBC News Politics reported.
That advantage has not resolved disagreements within the Democratic Party over how extensive its healthcare plans should be.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, has identified reversing Medicaid cuts and extending Affordable Care Act tax credits as central priorities if Democrats take control.
Jeffries also said Democrats would seek to restore congressional authority over tariffs and end President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East, while pursuing a broader affordability agenda.
Rep. Don Beyer said Democrats agree that their first bill, H.R. 1, should address affordability, although lawmakers have not settled on its contents.
Beyer argued that restoring hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid and ACA subsidies cut in Trump’s one big, beautiful bill would be the strongest way to begin.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said restoring those funds alone would not go far enough, arguing that Democrats should also challenge corporate power and monopolies involving Big Pharma, insurance and private equity.
The Democratic Party is also divided over whether to pursue a Medicare for All system, make narrower changes to the current ACA framework or consider an alternative such as free primary care for all.
The scale of any House majority would shape what Democrats could pass next year, since a narrow margin could restrict the party to measures with the broadest internal support.
A source familiar with Jeffries’ thinking said Democrats envision work in three stages: the first 100 hours, the first 100 days and the first year.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz said the Medicaid and ACA proposals would be a useful starting point, while noting that legislation would need 60 votes in the Senate and the president’s signature.
Rep. Brendan Boyle said his focus would be reversing healthcare damage from Trump’s megabill, while Rep. Veronica Escobar said she would favor a larger package that could include paid family and medical leave, universal prekindergarten, childcare subsidies, ACA subsidies and student loan forgiveness.
Escobar pointed to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda as a framework she would like to revisit, although that effort died in the Senate after opposition from Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The competing approaches show that agreement on restoring Medicaid and ACA funding may be only the starting point for Democrats’ healthcare plans.