Duckworth says now not time for Sanders’ ‘Medicare for All’ healthcare fix

Sept. 22--WASHINGTON -- Freshman Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth says she opposes, at least for now, a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to make Medicare available for anyone seeking health insurance.

Duckworth, a Democrat and decorated veteran who lost both legs in Iraq after the helicopter she was piloting was shot down, told the Post-Dispatch this week that she is in the middle of pessimism and optimism on whether Congress can do something to fix the problems with the Affordable Care Act that she says are evident.

And a lot of that, Duckworth said, is dependent on whether quiet talks to shore up the ACA between Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray continue, or if they are overwhelmed by renewed GOP attempts to pass an overhaul of Obamacare in the Senate.

In an interview in her office, where her Purple Heart is memorialized in a display in her reception area, Duckworth talked about her disappointment with the partisanship that has plagued Congress throughout her entirety here. She served in the House of Representatives, including a stint on the fiercely divided Benghazi investigation committee, for two terms before defeating Republican Sen. Mark Kirk last November.

She has staked out areas such as veterans' care, defense spending and transportation. Duckworth serves on the committees on environment and public works; commerce, science and transportation; energy and natural resources; and small business and entrepreneurship.

Here are excerpts from an interview Thursday in her office. In some cases, questions are paraphrased.

Q: What makes you the most optimistic, and the most pessimistic, about the possibility of bipartisan health care reform?

A: What makes me optimistic was the progress Sens. Murray and Alexander were making. ... What makes me pessimistic is the fact that if (Alexander) walks away from that I don't think we can get back to bipartisanship in any way, shape or form.

Q: If those bipartisan efforts between Alexander and Murray fall apart, will it translate into other issues?

A: Yes, unfortunately. I serve on some of the committees ... that could do some good bipartisan work, have done some good bipartisan work, but I don't think it holds together, unfortunately.

Q: If there was one area that you were optimistic about getting bipartisan work done, what would that be?

A: Transportation, infrastructure -- just because everyone needs it everywhere. It doesn't matter if you are Chicago or rural Illinois or Iowa, everybody needs it.

Q: Do you think there are aspects of the Affordable Care Act that need fixing?

A: Oh, my goodness, yes. I was one of the Democrats who voted against the medical device tax. There are many, many flaws within the Affordable Care Act. But I have always been one to fix it and figure out how to fix it and figure out how to make it better. Look, I am voting for anything that expands coverage and makes it cheaper.

Q: Do you support Sen. Sanders' "Medicare for All" bill?

A: I just don't think the Sanders proposal is achievable. ... I know he is (taking) a philosophical stand, but I just don't think we are in a time right now where we should be taking these very strong stands when we have real work to try to fix it. ... What can we do to shore up the exchanges, what can we do to make sure the White House makes the payments (to subsidize some plans)? I am actually interested in what Chris Murphy (Democratic senator from Connecticut) is working on, the idea of buying in to Medicare.

Q: What do you say to the argument that that is just a foot in the door to a single-payer system?

A: Maybe it is. All I know is that I have a lot of people in Illinois who have no other options and would love Medicare buy-in, and it would make a difference in their lives.

Q: Why make it 55 (the trigger age for buying into Medicare pushed by Democrats)? What's wrong with opening it to anyone?

A: For me it is about realistically implementing something. I just don't know that we have the capacity to go straight to everybody. ... I have always had good government-provided health care, either through the military or the VA. So I understand how good it can be and I also understand and I know the frustrations of the bureaucracy and the ineffectiveness of the system. So I think have to do a very measured approach. But we need to move forward.

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