Health care remains a topic of debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, even as it plays a quieter role in the 2024 election compared to previous years. Where past elections focused intensely on Obamacare, today’s discussions show an evolving landscape in each candidate’s approach.
During her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris initially supported a Medicare-for-All system, co-sponsoring Bernie Sanders‘ bill that proposed a single government-run insurer. However, she later introduced a plan that would still allow private insurers within a regulated framework.
This shift in stance, coupled with her current focus on strengthening the Affordable Care Act (ACA) instead of pushing for single-payer, highlights her commitment to maintaining private insurance options while expanding health care access.
Trump often references Harris‘s previous support of single-payer health care, framing it as a push for “socialist” policies. Harris‘s campaign emphasizes, however, that her current approach is to build upon the ACA without eliminating private insurance, aiming for broader but flexible access.
Trump’s health care goals
Trump has criticized the ACA, labeling it “lousy,” yet his administration’s attempts to repeal it faced significant setbacks, notably when Senator John McCain voted against repeal in a dramatic 2017 decision.
Though Trump now says he has “concepts” for a replacement, he hasn’t presented a detailed alternative. His previous efforts to dismantle the ACA, including attempts to overturn it in the Supreme Court, failed, leaving him to emphasize protecting pre-existing conditions while exploring other potential reforms.
Drug price initiatives
Harris champions expanding Medicare’s drug price negotiation powers, a component of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) she helped pass in 2022. Harris‘s plan includes extending price caps on insulin and accelerating the timeline for Medicare to negotiate additional drug prices.
Trump also supports reducing drug costs but recently distanced himself from an earlier proposal to tie Medicare prices to international rates.
