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February 18, 2019 at 04:15 AM
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio (Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/BB)
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown defended his push to allow Americans over 50 years old to buy into Medicare, rather than seeking universal government coverage as some progressive Democrats advocate, and said the odds of him running for president are about 50-50.
“Probably, more or less,” Brown said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “I don’t know, 50-50, 51-49.”
(Related: Democratic 2020 Contenders Spar Over Health Policy)
Brown joined Democratic colleagues Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin in introducing a bill Feb. 13 that would allow Americans over 50 years old to buy into Medicare, the federal health insurance program that currently provides coverage for those 65 and older.
While some other leading Democrats are pushing for a “Medicare-for-all” plan with government coverage for all Americans, Brown said on CNN that’s difficult to achieve, and “will take a while.”
“I support universal coverage,” Brown said. “But I want to help people now.”
The senator said he supports preserving private health insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and building on it, not repealing it as Republicans have tried to do for years.
