After repeatedly offering a blase attitude about the idea of eliminating private health insurance and adopting a Medicare for all plan, CBS This Morning on Thursday actually managed some tough questions to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Actually pushing the socialist on the desire for eliminating private health care, co-host Anthony Mason demanded, “A CBS News poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats think a national health care plan will work better if it competes with private insurance. Doesn't that suggest you're trying to sell something that Democratic voters do not want?”
Co-host Tony Dokoupil skeptically wondered, “Can you convince a number of Americans to support a federal system that will actually be better than the private market?” Trying to reason with Sanders, perhaps thinking about electability, Dokoupil even brought up competition as a good thing:
TONY DOKOUPIL: That poll that we cited seemed to suggest that people think that competition would be good.
BERNNIE SANDERS: No. Competition is terrible in health care. The function of a drug— of an an insurance company is to deny you the claims you thought you had.
Guest co-host Michelle Miller even pressed Sanders on what happens to all the jobs in the health insurance industry: “I want to kind of flip it around a little bit here. 2.7 million people are working in the insurance industry. What should those people fear? Should they fear for their own job security?”
All of this is quite a contrast to how CBS has been covering eliminating private health insurance, including in a story earlier this week.
On January 29, 2019, CBS This Morning briefly noted (in an unconcerned tone) Senator Kamala Harris’s initial suggestion that it’s “time to move on” from private health insurance. Also in January, then-co-host John Dickerson demanded 2020 Democrat Pete Buttigieg come up with bolder health care ideas: “When you talk about nibbling around the edges, if you look at the other Democrats who are running, they're not nibbling around the edges. They're talking about Medicare for all. Some are talking about getting rid of private insurance.”
A partial transcript of the segment is below. Click “expand” to read more:
CBS This Morning
8/1/19
8:04 AM ET
TONY DOKOPUIL: So, let's hear what Bernie Sanders has to say about all that. He joins us from his home city of Burlington, Vermont. Talking about this week’s debates first on CTM. Senator, good morning.BERNIE SANDERS: Good morning. How are you?
DOKOUPIL: I know as we played the clip of Joe Biden from last night’s debate you were shaking your head already. He said there's going to be a big deductible from people’s paycheck under the single payer system. He basically is saying it's going to be a big tax. You don’t deny that, do you?
SANDERS: Look, this is what I believe.
...
ANTHONY MASON: But, senator, a CBS News poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats think a national health care plan will work better if it competes with private insurance. Doesn't that suggest you're trying to sell something that Democratic voters do not want?
...DOKOUPIL: You're right. Polls are polls. But, you know, many are frustrated with their private health insurance, you're absolutely right about that. Can you convince a number of Americans to support a federal system that will actually be better than the private market?
SANDERS: Absolutely.
DOKOUPIL: That poll that we cited seemed to suggest that people think that competition would be good.
SANDERS: No. Competition is terrible in health care. The function of a drug— of an an insurance company is to deny you the claims you thought you had.
...
MICHELLE MILLER: I want to kind of flip it around a little bit here. 2.7 million people are working in the insurance industry. What should those people fear? Should they fear for their own job security?
SANDERS: The answer is we have a just transition built in. The function of a health care system should not be somebody sitting behind a desk telling you that you are not going to get the benefits that you thought you had, that you're going to be denied. That's a waste of money.
...
ANTHONY MASON: I just want to say you appeared in the debate the other night, you appeared to have a non-aggression pact with Elizabeth Warren. Do you two have not to attack each other at least at this stage?...
MILLER: But, Senator, you and Elizabeth Warren as most pundits seem to indicate will make the next debate. How will you differentiate yourself from her? You're two progressives.
SANDERS: I'll let you guys and the punditry and the American people make that decision.
DOKOUPIL: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What’s one — What’s the single principled, the biggest difference between you and Senator Sanders? [sic] What makes — It’s not up to us. You’ve got to draw the distinction, Senator?
SANDERS: No.
DOKOUPIL: No?
SANDER: No. I have to tell the American people what I believe.
....
