Sally Pipes at Intelligence Squared Debate on “Medicare for All” (New York, NY)

September 17, 2019
115 East 68th Street, New York, NY, USA
150320221647327618

ABOUT THE DEBATE

Motion: Replace Private Insurance With “Medicare for All”

As the nation gears up for the 2020 election, Democrats are promising bold new changes to the American health care system. One idea championed by many on the progressive left is “Medicare for All,” or a single-payer system, which would do away with private health insurance for most forms of care. Advocates of this plan promise that nationalizing health insurance will cut costs by reducing overhead and promote overall health by giving all Americans access to preventive health care. And in doing so, the United States will join the ranks of many other developed nations that have already mandated a national insurance program to guarantee medical care as a basic human right. Their opponents argue Medicare for All is a political non-starter that would force Americans off employer-based plans, reduce incentives for doctors and providers, increase bureaucracy and inefficiencies in the system, and lead to worse care overall, all the while inflating the already swelled federal deficit. Should private health insurance exist? Or is it time for Medicare for All?

 

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FOR THE MOTION

Dr. Adam Gaffney
President, Physicians for a National Health Program

 

Joseph Sanberg
Co-Founder, Aspiration & Chair, CalEITC4Me

 

AGAINST THE MOTION

Sally Pipes
President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy, PRI

 

Nick Gillespie
Editor-at-Large, Reason

 

THE HOST

John Donvan
Host and Moderator

 

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED

A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. is a debate series working to restore civility, reasoned analysis, and constructive public discourse to today’s media landscape. Click here for more information.

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