The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party's Plan for Dealing with the Long-Run Deficit Is Called the Affordable Care Act
It is a pretty good plan. As I have said, I would prefer to swing right--mandatory universal catastrophic plus mandatory MSAs plus free preventive--or left to single payer. But RomneyCare plus sensible Medicare spending cuts and quality improvements plus a tax on high-cost health-insurance plans plus yet another attempt to create a world in which providing cheap, good medical care is a way to make money--that isn't a bad plan. And it is infinitely better than the Ryan non-plan or any of the other non-plans out there from the various deficit arsonists wearing their firechief hats.
Greg Sargent watches Nancy Pelosi explain it:
Nancy Pelosi: `We have a plan. It’s called Medicare.’: “It is a flag we’ve planted that we will protect and defend. We have a plan. It’s called Medicare.” That’s from Nancy Pelosi, who called me from Wisconsin, where she’s holding events today defending Medicare in Paul Ryan’s back yard. On the call, Pelosi laid out a message on Medicare she hopes Dems will use for — well, forever....
Pelosi added that Dems have already put on the table the type of reform they should continue advocating for: The Affordable Care Act. “We gave the blueprint for how we strengthen Medicare in the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi said, a plan which is still “ripening” and “which does not reduce benefits. It lowers costs to taxpayers, the deficit, and beneficiaries.” She said the only type of Medicare cuts she’s open to are extracting savings via bureaucratic and pharmecutical reforms that don’t touch benefits....
Pelosi indicated that the discussions that really matter — the big-picture deficit reduction talks between Dems and Republican that Veep Joe Biden is presiding over — were generally positive. She said all indications from these talks are that in the end, the President won’t agree to anything in the way of serious Medicare benefits cuts. And unlike in the case of negotiations over spending cuts earlier this year — when House Dems were cut out of the talks — she insisted they have a seat “at the table” this time around.... Pelosi insisted that when all the smoke clears, the Democratic Party will still be standing by Medicare in a way liberals can accept. “The fight of this Congress and beyond will be to preserve Medicare and not have it abolished,” she said. “The three most important issues we should be talking about are Medicare, Medicare, and Medicare.”
