- Position‹2 of 3›
- Joe Biden will be better for healthcare
- Argument‹3 of 3
Joe Biden's plans will allow more people to get health insurance
Biden has outlined steps in his plan to expand the coverage of Medicare, lowering the age requirement from 65 to 60. He also plans to expand health care coverage to incorporate a further 15-20 million people who are currently uninsured.
The argument
Biden is aiming to increase insurance coverage to more than 97% of US adults without restricting their options for the insurance plan they want. He plans to expand programs like Medicare by lowering the age requirement from 65 to 60 and giving Americans the option to buy a public health insurance option like Medicare. This will reduce the cost to individuals and small companies who struggle to afford health insurance for their employees. Furthermore, the Biden plan is aimed to be as inclusive as possible. This means expanding coverage for low-income households by automatically insuring those marking below 138% of the federal poverty level when they interact with certain governmental institutions. Inclusivity to Biden also means giving women choices, by expanding contraception access and protecting the right to abortion.
Premises
Counter-arguments
But are they too progressive? Many of these measures will struggle to pass through congress. The stance on healthcare is divided neatly by party lines. Should the Republican Party maintain control of the Senate, there will be little chance of them allowing these chances to take place.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] The coverage figure is a design target of the proposal rather than a result, and the premises describe what the plan is meant to do without reaching cost, financing or take-up — a public option and a lower Medicare age expand eligibility, which is not the same as expanding enrolment. [Rejecting P2] Contraception access and abortion protections concern what a plan covers rather than how many people it insures, so they do not bear on the claim at issue; and none of these measures reach anyone without legislation, which the premises treat as already given.