[tptacek]

So really your argument has nothing to do with Medicare? You're just using the term "Medicare" as a placeholder for whatever health policy you come up with? I'm not trying to be snarky: this is also what several of the Democratic frontrunners are doing.

[ddingus]

Your words not mine.

The original intent of Medicare is intact in the proposals a growing number of people are moving to actualize.

I am not coming up with "any policy"

I am contributing to the Medicare For All effort.

Does that clear things up?

[ddingus]

BTW: Totally get it. No worries.

I just reread this, and the TL;DR:

For very large numbers of people, the current arrangement simply isn't acceptable. The pain level on that has reached a point where those people are now motivated politically.

Medicare For All is an expansion of Medicare, and an augmentation.

Technically, part of what you said is right: Medicare is being used to reference policy modeled on, but does expand considerably on that which we know as Medicare today.

That's being done because people largely understand and like the part of Medicare being expanded on, and that's the part sans private insurers and the usual mechanics associated with all that.

The Dem front runners are looking to garner those health care votes. They aren't wrong to be doing that as for increasing fractions of those votes, a solid proposal that eliminates the harm potential present in our current system is a litmus test.

Cheers!