Medicare for All or public option? Balter, Conole disagree on health care in TV debate

Jun. 16--It has been one of the major differences between Democratic congressional candidates Dana Balter and Francis Conole, and it was on display during the only televised debate before the primary election.

Balter and Conole were asked during NewsChannel 9's debate Monday about their positions on Medicare for All. While there are various Medicare for All proposals, the idea is to achieve universal health care by allowing Americans to enroll in Medicare.

Conole does not support Medicare for All. Instead, he wants to strengthen the Affordable Care Act -- he didn't provide specifics on how he would improve the 2010 health care law -- and create a public option that would allow uninsured Americans to buy into a Medicare-like system.

His stance is based on the challenges his parents faced when his father retired and his mother, who wasn't eligible for Medicare, lost health insurance coverage. His father, who served in the Army Reserves, was able to buy into TRICARE, which is available for military service members, retirees and their families.

"Since we launched this campaign, we have been talking about health care as one of the number one crises that we confront and I believe that it is our generation's crisis to face and to solve," Conole said. "Everywhere you go in the district, health care is a major concern and it's personal. It's personal for almost everyone."

Balter disagrees with Conole that a public option would be enough to solve the problem. She said it would leave 10 million Americans uninsured -- an apparent reference to a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget study of Vice President Joe Biden's public option proposal that found as many as 15 million Americans wouldn't have health insurance.

Balter's plan would phase in a Medicare for All system. She supports lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 55, allowing Americans of any age to buy into the program and enroll babies when they're born so they are guaranteed coverage when they begin their lives.

The byproduct of that, Balter argues, is that there will be more competition for private insurers, which will force insurance companies to offer better rates and services.

"This is the way we can get everyone covered in this country," she said.

But Conole countered that there wouldn't be progress on health care by "ordering central New Yorkers into a plan." He said his proposal would allow central New Yorkers to make their own health care decisions.

If central New Yorkers want Medicare, he said, they can buy into Medicare. But they could also choose to keep their existing private insurance plans.

"I think it's a much better approach, an approach that we can galvanize central New Yorkers behind," Conole said.

Balter reiterated her view that the public option wouldn't fix the flaws with the private health insurance market. She also defended Medicare for All by stating that no one would be forced into a plan.

Private insurance would be available under Balter's proposal. She said if someone wants more coverage than what Medicare is offered, they could seek additional insurance in the private market.

"This plan has been studied and it has been demonstrated to save money for the overall economy," she said.

As the debate progressed, the candidates were asked about Interstate 81 (they both support the community grid option) and addressing the national debt (they agreed that the 2017 tax law signed by President Donald Trump added to the problem).

Balter and Conole were also asked about defunding police departments. Black Lives Matter launched a "Defund the Police" petition and the movement is gaining support after the killing of George Floyd.

Balter thinks there has been "a lot of confusion" about what defund the police means. She does not support abolishing police departments, but she does believe that more needs to be invested in community programs and services. Conole agrees. He said funding should be re-prioritized.

The NewsChannel 9 debate aired at 7 p.m. Monday. The video will be archived at localsyr.com.

The June 23 primary election will determine who will face Republican U.S. Rep. John Katko in the November election. Balter was the Democratic nominee in 2018 when she lost by five percentage points. Conole is a first-time candidate.

Absentee ballots are being returned and in-person voting began Saturday. New York has a nine-day early voting period that runs through Sunday.

On June 23, the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. While there will be an election night tally released, the final results may not be known for another two weeks due to the large number of absentee ballots.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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