A scuffle last week over whether independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders adequately supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 1993-1994 health care reform efforts highlighted how the question of moving beyond the Affordable Care Act has emerged as a defining difference between the two candidates. The most recent dispute seems to have been resolved. But the larger issue remains. Just as we saw with President Lyndon B. Johnson's fight for Medicare in 1965, both candidates are presenting plans that while politically expedient, fail to adequately control costs.
We cannot afford to have history repeat itself in this regard. Given health care’s impact on both federal and state budgets, cost containment has to be at the heart of the conversation about post-Affordable Care Act reform.
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