VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Democratic 2020 Candidate John Delaney On Improving U.S. Healthcare

Rep. John Delaney (D-Maryland), the first Democrat to announce a 2020 run for president, has some bold new ideas to improve the state of healthcare in the United States.

The 56-year-old congressman explained exclusively to uPolitics what he believes most urgently needs to improve with regards to the country’s medical care system.

“The first thing I would do as president is fix the Affordable Care Act,” Delaney said, referencing Barack Obama‘s signature healthcare law that is more commonly known as Obamacare. “It was a good law and it’s been destabilized by the Republicans and I think it could be shored up really quickly, and that would help Americans right away. I think that could be done in the first month or two of my administration.”

Delaney wen on to explain he would push for a universal healthcare system were every American could have access to medical care “as a basic human right.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), another 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has long stressed this notion and argued in favor of a Medicare-for-all, single-payer healthcare system, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted as untenable. 

“There are so many Americans right now who are shackled to their jobs,” he said. “And they’d like to either start a business or get some training so they can improve their career but they can’t because of healthcare.”

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The Maryland Democrat said his plan would not include changing any aspects related to the Medicare program, as he believes it works well.

“I would create a new program that people get from when they’re born to [when] they’re 65, a new federal basic healthcare program,” he continued. “I’d roll Medicaid into that, but they would be allowed to get supplemental plans, just like people do with Medicare, on the market from private insurance companies.”

Delaney added he would also allow people an option to “get a small tax credit and use that to buy their own healthcare” should they be unsatisfied for any reason with government-issued healthcare.

How would Delaney pay for this type of program?

“By eliminating the corporate deductibility of healthcare, which is the largest tax exemption that we have right now,” he said.

Ultimately, Delaney emphasized, his plan is viable because it would allow the American people a wide range of healthcare choices without adopting the system that involves implementing more radical programs like single-payer medical care.