Mike Bloomberg unveiled a $1.5 trillion, 10-year health care plan Thursday that would prop up and build on ObamaCare — but rejects the government-run medical insurance programs backed by Democratic rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Bloomberg’s medical policy would allow people to buy into a public option — a Medicare-like health insurance policy that would be administered by the federal government but paid for by customer premiums — aimed at providing less expensive alternatives to private insurance.
He also claimed the competition would drive down private insurance premiums.
The plan would extend tax credit for individuals and families whose health care premiums account for more than 8.5 percent of income. And it would allow families with expensive employer-sponsored insurance to buy health plans in the individual market with federal subsidies, giving roughly six million more people help with their premiums.
Bloomberg would also create a permanent federal reinsurance program to help cover high medical costs for insurers with a higher percentage of sicker customers. He said the program would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent.
The proposal would attempt to curb drug spending by allowing federal health officials to negotiate prices and cap costs to 120 percent of the average paid in other countries.
The former three-term New York City mayor seeks to limit Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending on drug costs to $2,000 per year and vows to end “surprise” hospital bills.
For years, candidates and elected officials have talked about reining in drug costs and hospital bills, with little success.
Bloomberg, while stumping in Memphis, Tenn., said his plan builds on and improves former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and vows to reverse President Trump’s efforts to destroy it.
The Bloomberg plan would reinstate the 90-day period to sign up for medical care under the ACA. Trump slashed the sign-up period in half to 45 days, which critics said was a move to shrink and dismantle the program.
“No one should have to forgo care because they don’t have insurance, and no one should face hardships because of medical bills,” Bloomberg said.
“President Trump has spent three years sabotaging the Affordable Care Act and offering nothing in return but empty promises. We will reverse the president’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, reach universal coverage, reduce costs for all Americans, increase support for rural communities, and fix our broken healthcare system once and for all.”
He said he will conduct aggressive efforts to sign people up for insurance, including recruitment efforts in doctor’s offices, hospitals and food stamp centers. There are roughly 7.5 million people eligible for free or low-cost coverage who could be enrolled in Medicaid, the federal government’s insurance program for the needy, and another 4.7 million are eligible for a fully subsidized bronze plan in the individual market.
Bloomberg’s plan to provide universal health care and limit costs are similar in some ways to proposals offered by Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg.
Bloomberg said his plan would save $500 million, but added other revenues needed to pay for it will come from a yet-to-be-released tax reform package, to be released in the coming weeks.
