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Andrew Yang on Health Care
Democratic Presidential Challenger & Tech CEO
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We must give country a chance to recover from coronavirus
[Excerpts of DNC speech]: "You might know me as the guy who ran for president talking about MATH and the future. Unfortunately for all of us, that future is now," Yang began his remarks, "The pandemic has accelerated everything."
"We despair that our government will ever rise to the challenges of our time. But we must give this country, our country, a chance to recover--and recovery is only possible with a change of leadership and new ideas," Yang continued.
Source: Politico.com on 2020 Democratic National Convention
, Aug 21, 2020
Would expand Medicare but not offer a public option
"Our health care plan would be based on Medicare and expanding it over time to more and more Americans," Yang responded. "You'd lower the eligibility age and then you make it widely accessible." Yang's plan stops short of offering the public
option plan that even moderate candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg have committed to implementing.
Source: ABC This Week interview for 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 29, 2019
Invest in "telehealth" allowing internet access to doctors
After backtracking slightly on his endorsement of Medicare for All, Yang released his own health care plan, titled "A New Way Forward." The measure commits to investing in "telehealth." "Telehealth is an
effective approach for doctors across the country to provide care for patients in rural and underserved areas over the internet without needing a specific redundant license to practice medicine in the patient's state," the plan reads.
Source: Alexandra Hutzler in Newsweek on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 19, 2019
Provide comprehensive mental health coverage
Andrew absolutely believes we need more funding for mental health. He would provide comprehensive mental health coverage through a
Medicare for All plan so that all Americans who need it can receive treatment.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
, Nov 7, 2019
Supports forced licensing of drug patents to control costs
Andrew would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. He would push for the use of international reference pricing to control costs. If companies couldn't get costs under control, he would support forced licensing of drug patents to other
companies who could. He'd also support the creation of public manufacturing facilities to make necessary medications. If all else fails, Andrew is in favor of allow drug importation.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
, Nov 7, 2019
Medicare-for-All but with private insurance
Q: What about Medicare-for-All?A: There is a way to provide Medicare-for-All that does not prohibit private insurance. The goal has to be to demonstrate to the American people that this Medicare plan is superior to your current insurance without
pulling the rug out from under you and saying that the insurance no longer exists. Medicare for all means that you have a Medicare program that everyone can be enrolled in.
Q: So you're adopting the label, but not the bill?
A: That's correct.
Source: CNN State of the Union on 2019 Democratic primary
, Nov 3, 2019
Docs should focus on results, not procedure numbers
Doctors tell me they spend a lot of time on paperwork, avoiding being sued, and navigating the insurance bureaucracy. We have to change the incentives so instead of revenue and activity, people are focused on our health in the health care system.
At the Cleveland Clinic, where they're paid not based upon how many procedures they prescribe-shocker-they prescribe fewer procedures, and patient health stays the same or improves. That is the pitch to the American people.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
, Sep 12, 2019
Support negotiating drug prices for Medicare outpatients
Yang on Drug Costs: Support negotiating drug prices for Medicare outpatients prescription drug benefit.THREE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Jay Inslee; Wayne Messam; Beto O`Rourke.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Rep. Beto O`Rourke
are among the handful of Democratic presidential contenders who have not jumped on board with some of the newer ideas to get the government involved in drug pricing. Wayne Messam, Andrew Yang and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee are also in this group.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
, Jul 17, 2019
Aligned with "intactivists": against circumcision
Andrew Yang's stance on key issues: Circumcision: In March, Yang came out against circumcision, telling the Daily Beast: "I'm highly aligned with the intactivists.
History will prove them even more correct. From what I've seen, the evidence on it being a positive health choice for the infant is quite shaky."
Source: Axios.com on 2020 Democratic primary
, Apr 22, 2019
Public option would cost less than present system
I'm in the Medicare for all public option camp. Right now, we're spending twice as much on our health care to worse effects than other countries. We're spending 18 percent of GDP. And one of the things that is confusing about this is people are like,
where are you going to get the money? Which is completely incorrect. We're spending twice as much than other countries. If we channel our existing resources and negotiate lower drug prices, lower rates, we can get the access up and the prices down.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
, Apr 14, 2019
Advocates for a single-payer health care system
Yang calls his economic philosophy "human-centered capitalism," advocating for a system that emphasizes metrics that measure "human well-being and fulfillment," such as standard of living, health-adjusted life expectancy,
childhood success rate and social and economic mobility. He described his plans as a "vision for a trickle-up economy" on ABC's This Week.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
, Apr 7, 2019
Single-payer system solves biggest problem of over-billing
This brings us back to how to implement a new single-payer system. We need to do more than rationalize current costs--we need to transform the way that doctors get paid. Adopting Medicare-for-all or a single-payer system will solve the biggest
problems of rampant overbilling and ever-increasing costs. But Medicare still generally reimburses based on individual appointments, procedures, and tests, which maintain the incentives for doctors to do more to get paid more.
There is a movement toward "value-based" or "quality-based reimbursement," which tries to measure patient outcomes, readmission rates, and the like and reward providers accordingly.
The best approach is what they do at the Cleveland Clinic--doctors simply get paid flat salaries. When doctors aren't worried about billing, they can focus on patients.
Source: The War on Normal People, by Andrew Yang, p.221
, Apr 2, 2019
Medicare-for-All establishes a basic right
Healthcare should be a basic right for all Americans. Right now, if you get sick you have two things to worry about--how to get better and how to pay for it. Too many Americans are making terrible, impossible choices between paying for healthcare
and other needs. We need to provide high-quality healthcare to all Americans and a single-payer system is the most efficient way to accomplish that.
It will be a massive boost to our economy as people will be able to start businesses and change jobs without fear of losing their health insurance.As President, I will...- Work with Congress to create a Medicare-for-All
program, or a similar program, to provide healthcare to all Americans
- Shift the way doctors are compensated to promote holistic and empathic care
- Create incentives for and invest in innovative treatment methods and methodologies
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com
, Mar 29, 2019
ObamaCare is only a good first step
- Yang has called the Affordable Care Act a good first step but believes the law didn't do enough to reform the nation's health care system.
- He would shift the country toward a single-payer system, with a focus on salaried physicians and
holistic medicine.
- The entrepreneur's health care platform also focuses on mental health.
- He has proposed funding artificial intelligence efforts that could improve mental health services and would create a "White House psychologist corps."
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
, Mar 19, 2019
Page last updated: Apr 29, 2021