Despite Trump’s Accusations, Democrats Have Largely Avoided Medicare for All

Democrats promoting the Biden administration’s health care achievements at their convention in Chicago this week have mostly dropped appeals for a policy that split the party during Vice President Kamala Harris’s first presidential campaign: Medicare for All.

Ms. Harris, who proposed a less sweeping plan in 2019 than some of her progressive rivals, no longer supports a single-payer health insurance system, her campaign said last month.

Her avoidance of a policy that had been central to progressive Democratic aspirations underscores how quickly she has sought to define her candidacy while appealing to more moderate voters, and how Medicare for All proposals have effectively left the Democratic mainstream for now.

It also represents more broadly how the prospects for Medicare for All legislation have dimmed during President Biden’s term, forcing progressive Democrats to reassess their strategy in a difficult political climate.

Mr. Biden did not support Medicare for All proposals in his 2020 campaign or as president. Instead, he pursued a more traditional set of health care priorities, such as increasing enrollment in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces.

Even if Democrats were to win control of the Senate and the House, they would be unlikely to have a large enough margin to pass legislation like Medicare for All.