Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg)
Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a Democratic presidential candidate , says her Medicare for All plan wouldn't end private insurance. At least not right away.
"Medicare for All means that everyone will have access to health care and that cost will not be a barrier," Harris told CNN in an interview aired today.
"As it relates to private insurance, there will still be supplemental insurance, but yeah, transitioning into Medicare for All will at some point reduce the requirement for insurance because everyone will have access to health care," she said.
Harris has been accused of waffling on her health care plan, embracing Medicare for All but trying to find a narrow path between two competing constituencies in the Democratic Party.
On one side are progressives such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who embrace a Medicare for all system that would eliminate most private insurance. On the other side are moderates, including front-runner Joe Biden, seek to preserve Obamacare but would add on new government-run options in an effort to maximize consumer choice.
Harris said on CNN that private insurance would remain a "supplemental" option, under her plan. But that would eventually not be needed as there won't be a need. She also said she doesn't see a middle-class tax hike needed to fund her proposal, and she'd instead eye more targeted new revenue sources such as going after Wall Street.
