One of the most controversial provisions in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill working its way through Congress is an expansion of Medicare benefits championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders has said that expanding benefits to include coverage for dental, hearing, and vision services at no additional cost to beneficiaries is “not negotiable” for him. But the reality is that the senator from Vermont has no political mandate to demand this costly policy right now. As lawmakers work to trim the bill’s overall size so it can pass Congress, they should prioritize more-pressing public investments from President Biden’s agenda now and pursue a comprehensive plan to strengthen Medicare in the future.
During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, voters had a choice between President Biden’s vision of expanding the Affordable Care Act and Sen. Sanders’ vision of Medicare for All. They decisively chose Biden. Then, when President Biden offered his American Jobs and Families Plans – which served as the blueprint for the Build Back Better bill – neither included any expansion of Medicare for current beneficiaries. The policy was only added in at the insistence of Sanders who, as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, was responsible for writing the resolution that enabled Biden’s agenda to pass through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process.
