House panel sets ‘Medicare for All’ hearing for next week

The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing next week on “Medicare for All,” the proposal that would shift the U.S. to a single-payer health care system.

The June 12 hearing will mark the first time the proposal is considered by a committee that has jurisdiction over health care issues.

A spokeswoman for committee Democrats said the hearing would cover Medicare for All and “other potential pathways to universal coverage.”{mosads}

The scheduled hearing before one of the most powerful House committees is a big win for progressive Democrats, who have been lobbying leadership to take the proposal seriously.

The news was first reported by Politico.

The House version of Medicare for All, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has 110 Democratic co-sponsors.

And a version from Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is backed by 14 senators, including four who are running for president.

Supporters also received hearings this year in the Budget and the Rules committees, but they were low-key affairs as neither have jurisdiction over health care.

The Ways and Means Committee hearing is likely to put pressure on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the other panel with control over health care issues, to focus on Medicare for All.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) has been noncommittal on holding a Medicare for All hearing, instead focusing on strengthening the Affordable Care Act.