The 2024 Democratic Party platform contains little emphasis on healthcare compared to previous years, despite it remaining a top concern for voters. The draft platform obtained by Politico in July does not mention a “public option” or “universal healthcare,” reverting from the party’s 2020 platform that had outlined reforms like a public insurance option. While the Biden administration has touted record-low uninsured rates and taken some steps to lower healthcare costs, such as capping insulin copays, overall healthcare affordability remains a major challenge. Premiums for employer-provided family plans continue to rise faster than wages and inflation, and over 40% of adults report having medical debt. The 2024 platform’s light treatment of healthcare is a disappointing shift from the more ambitious proposals of the past. Progressives who had pushed for policies like Medicare for All will need to mount a renewed effort to keep healthcare as a central priority for the Democratic Party. The party’s own rhetoric in 2020 about healthcare being a “right, not a privilege” must be upheld, and voters should demand that candidates put forth concrete plans to achieve truly universal, affordable healthcare coverage.
It’s not so much about how they voted. It’s more about how they refused to vote on key bills. Because of their position so many bills couldn’t even come to floor. I distinctly remember while heated debate was underway about student loan forgiveness, immigration, and inflation reduction - those two were running around in Texas with republicans to “find a common bipartisan ground”. Mind you the same republican they were hanging out with had publicly stated that they had no interest in solving problems whatsoever.