Tom Steyer's new health care plan looks pretty similar to Joe Biden's


Billionaire activist and Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer unveiled a health care plan Monday that would cost $1.5 trillion over a decade — and the early analysis is that it's mostly in line with the plans offered by other moderate Democratic candidates, like former Vice President Joe Biden.
Steyer, like Biden, is aiming to strengthen the Affordable Health Care Act which was achieved under the Obama-Biden administration. He's proposing a public option for the uninsured (who would be automatically enrolled when they engage with public assistance programs) and for people who aren't satisfied with their private insurance. So, Medicare-for-all isn't on the table for Steyer.
Another major aspect of the program is Steyer's proposal to lower prescription drug costs. He says he'd do so by having Medicare and the public option negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers and extend those prices to private insurers, as well, which his campaign predicts will save more than $50 billion per year. Read the full plan here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Art review: Diane Arbus: Constellation
Feature Park Avenue Armory, New York City, through Aug. 17
-
July fiction: Summers to remember
Feature Featuring the latest summer-themed novels from Darrow Farr, Lucas Schaefer, and more
-
Why are flash floods in Texas so deadly?
Today's Big Question Over 100 people, including 27 girls at a summer camp, died in recent flooding
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths