Progressive House Democrats to host health care strategy session

Three members of the House’s growing progressive wing will attend a strategy session Wednesday for left-leaning health care activists aimed at defining priorities under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) will join the Center for Health and Democracy’s Wendell Potter to “chart the path forward on transforming our broken health care system,” according to a tweet from Potter.

Thrilled to announce a HUGE event you won’t want to miss: superstars @aoc, @katieporteroc and @pramilajayapal will join me to chart the path forward on transforming our broken health care system. Join us THIS WEDNESDAY: https://t.co/XP4KuMsOUb.

— Wendell Potter (@wendellpotter) November 13, 2020

“At a time when millions of Americans are dying or going bankrupt because of a broken, profit-driven scheme that enriches corporations, it’s vital and urgent that we transform our healthcare system,” said Potter, a former executive with health insurance giant Cigna.

“During this pandemic when a countless number of Americans have lost their jobs and health insurance, insurance companies like the ones I worked for are posting record profits, and they’ll be using that windfall to try to stop any progress next year,” Potter continued. “This conversation, with some of the most forward thinking leaders on healthcare in our nation, will begin building the grassroots support we need to beat back these forces.”

The three congresswomen are all co-sponsors of a 2019 House bill that would implement a single-payer “Medicare for All” health care system, a plan that has faced resistance from the Democratic Party’s establishment wing and was championed most famously by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his two unsuccessful Democratic primary bids.

Biden’s plan would expand the Affordable Care Act, passed under the Obama administration, as well as provide a public option, or a government-funded health care plan that would compete with existing private plans already in the marketplace.