What Would Kamala Harris Do on Health Care?
With a campaign that’s less than two months old, the Harris-Walz health platform is being constructed in real time. Would a Harris presidency extend President Joe Biden’s health care policies or usher in a new agenda? Early indicators point to continuity. Her recently unveiled economic agenda calls for the elimination of medical debt, caps on out-of-pocket drug costs for all Americans, and boosting President Biden’s expired child tax credit. She recently joined Biden to celebrate early reductions in 10 drug prices through Medicare negotiations with drugmakers, and she’s been vocal in her support of federal legislation protecting reproductive rights. Harris has backed away from her controversial advocacy of “Medicare for all” in her 2020 presidential bid, instead vowing to strengthen the Affordable Care Act. In this webinar, we’ll provide a picture of the Harris campaign’s emerging health care platform, delve into the latest campaign trail developments, and suggest storylines to follow for this hugely consequential presidential election.
This webinar is free and made possible by the Commonwealth Fund, the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation and The California Endowment.
Panelists
Rachel Cohrs Zhang is the chief Washington correspondent for STAT, reporting on the intersection of politics, business, and health policy. She is also the author of the twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter and leads STAT's D.C. bureau. She previously covered health care policy for Modern Healthcare and prescription drug pricing for Inside Health Policy. Cohrs Zhang earned a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California.
Megan Messerly is a health care reporter for Politico covering health politics and policy in the states. Before joining Politico, Messerly covered politics and health policy for The Nevada Independent. She got her start in journalism covering politics as an intern at the San Francisco Chronicle and a reporter at the Las Vegas Sun. Messerly was a 2023 National Fellow at the Center for Health Journalism, and her reporting project focused on health care access in mining towns. She graduated from the UC Berkeley with a double major in English and media studies. She was born and raised in Orange County, Calif.
Suggested reading
“Democratic platform favors slate of smaller goals over a health overhaul,” by Rachel Cohrs Zhang, STAT
“What a Kamala Harris presidency would mean for health care in America,” by Sahil Kapur and Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News
“Harris pledges to scrap billions in medical debt with new presidential platform,” by Sarah Owermohle and Rachel Cohrs Zhang, STAT
“Harris Says Trump Will Repeal Obamacare. Trump Now Claims He’ll Make It ‘Better.’” By Noah Weiland, The New York Times
“Kamala Harris unveils populist policy agenda, with $6,000 credit for newborns,” by Jeff Stein, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Dan Diamond, The Washington Post
“The evolution of Kamala Harris' stances on single-payer health care, fracking and the Supreme Court,” by Kathryn Watson, CBS News
“Harris in the Spotlight,” KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’
“Harris is Reframing Health as an Economic Issue,” by Drew Altman, KFF