Kamala Harris Is Triangulating on Medicare for All

Kamala Harris’s new health care policy is a classic exercise in political triangulation, an attempt to appease health-insurance lobbyists while preserving her progressive bona fides by claiming “Medicare for All” as a slogan. Don't fall for it.

democratic presidential candidates Attend AARP Candidate Forums In Iowa

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks during the AARP and the Des Moines Register Iowa Presidential Candidate Forum on July 16, 2019 in Bettendorf, Iowa.Justin Sullivan / Getty


Following months of inconsistency and ambiguity about where exactly she stands on Medicare For All, Kamala Harris has finally laid out her campaign’s official health care policy. Since a clearly defined position is easier to discern than a constantly shifting one — and to say Harris has been inconsistent is putting it mildly — that’s good news.

Nevertheless, the plan ultimately raises some of the very questions Harris’s campaign is hoping it will put to rest.

Mere months ago, Harris was co-sponsoring Bernie Sanders’s sweeping single-payer legislation in the Senate. During a CNN town hall event in January, she then declared her willingness to eliminate for-profit private insurance before walking the statement back less than twenty-four hours later. During the first round of Democratic debates last month, Harris muddied things further by answering in the affirmative when asked if she would eliminate private insurance — later stating she had misinterpreted the question.

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