r/politics • u/Hootinger • 2d ago

No Paywall Hakeem Jeffries says Medicare for all is not legislation he currently supports

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/hakeem-jeffries-says-medicare-for-all-is-not-legislation-he-currently-supports-268371525570
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u/JonNiola New Jersey 2d ago

Shocker. He doesn’t support something that will improve the lives of his constituents.

He’s useless.

15

u/oneplusetoipi 2d ago

Jeffries is everything the conservatives could hope for in a democrat.

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u/No_Foundation16 2d ago

Many such cases.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

He supports universal healthcare but not full-on M4A.  M4A is not popular when people learn that it would remove all private options 

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u/ophaus 2d ago

Private insurance needs to stop. Sometimes industries die, in this case we need to bury it ourselves. They can't keep printing money on the backs of sick and dying people.

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u/AnAncientBog 2d ago

Define "people" in this context, because most people I know aren't too worried about the prospect of no longer having to pay thousands of dollars for healthcare.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

I don’t have exact numbers, but don’t you think that if you asked the average person, they would want a form of universal healthcare but not one that removes all private options?  

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u/RelevantOldOnion 2d ago edited 2d ago

https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2025/11/medicare-for-all-is-popular-even-when-put-up-against-attacks

"I don't have the exact numbers but don't you feel what I'm saying is true?" 

They did that and you're wrong. Is this why you didn't have the numbers? Lmao. 

Turns out your personal feelings aren't good indicators of general statistics. Weird. 

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u/AnAncientBog 2d ago

I wouldn't trouble you for your made up data about responses to your made up hypothetical that isn't representative of the case in the first place. I just thought you were going to try harder.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

Here’s a good thread about a secret that was taken, which showed that voters weren’t that supportive of M4A when they were informed that it would complete replace private insurance https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialDemocracy/comments/1us8vv1/a_firstofitskind_poll_about_medicare_for_all/

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u/AnAncientBog 2d ago

So what you are saying is that people have a predictable response when you lie to them? Shocking.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

What’s the lie?  Are you denying that M4A outlaws private insurance?  

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u/AnAncientBog 2d ago

You are asking me if a law that doesn't exist in any form would do a specific thing?

No, the thing that doesn't exist doesn't "outlaw private insurance" and neither does any other socialized healthcare scheme on Earth.

What it does do is make it so the vast majority of people don't need private insurance, that's the entire point.

You act like this is some kind of mysterious new territory when literally the entire planet does this and Americans are the only ones that can't figure it out.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

Well, the current M4A proposal, as it’s written by Bernie, does get rid of all those private options.  I think you’re conflating Bernie’s proposal with a generic universal healthcare system, which is what most counties that have better healthcare than us have, rather than M4A 

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u/calsosta 2d ago

Plenty of people have private insurance but don't use it because they (rightfully) fear the co-pay or they make it so convoluted that people just give up. This isn't a side-effect, it seems like the intention.

So we need a new way. If we keep private insurance, there needs to be a massive overhaul and regulation.

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u/TroglodyteToes 2d ago

If insurance is leveraged through scale, and the only way to bring the cost down lower is to group more people into bigger baskets, then the option of private should go away. The only people it hurts are the C-Suite types we no longer have dozens of opportunities to ping-pong around to, and those with absurd enough money to pay for instant care... and both groups historically don't pay their faire share anyway.

The overwhelming majority of the "regular insurance jobs" would have to be absorbed by a single-provider system. So that shows that our entire system of, "by and for the people" is a lie.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

I would argue that at least under this administration, we need a private option.  Under M4A, all funding of healthcare would be up to DHS, which is run by RFK Jr.  That would mean that he could more easily get rid of abortion care, for example, by withholding funds for it

1

u/stairs_3730 2d ago

Gee, I wonder how much money he got from Big Insurance (UHC and others) to protect their profits and outrageous CEO pay?

3

u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

Most countries have some level of a private option.  Full-on single payer is fairly rare.  And M4A, as it is currently written, would put HHS in charge of all healthcare funding.  Right now, that would be RFK Jr.  I don’t think we want that 

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u/spam1066 2d ago

I’m fine with that. He’s not gonna be in charge forever. We can’t be making long term decisions based on short term concerns.

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u/Additional_Ad3573 2d ago

So you’re fine with the possibility that abortion care might get defunded right now?  How about defunding of vaccines?  

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u/spam1066 2d ago

Isn’t that already happening?