Healthcare will be one of the main arenas in which this fight is likely to play out, says Carrie Dann, managing editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that forecasts the competitiveness of races.
“There is a lot of appetite for, at the very least, more transparency, more understanding of why healthcare costs are so high,” said Dann. “ Take a bad step, break your leg, and a huge swathe of Americans would see their worlds turned upside down by that because of the healthcare system as it is.”
Several Democratic candidates this election cycle have outlined ideas to lower “out-of-pocket” costs for those who already have health insurance – being hit with additional costs on top of regular insurance payments is a common feature of the American healthcare system. But there’s another flank of the party that is fed up with incremental changes and wants a national healthcare system that is free at the point of use – Medicare for All.
Recent polling suggests a majority of Democrats favour this kind of healthcare system, but a majority of Republicans oppose it.
But some Democrats say there’s nuance in the issue.
“People want to have universal healthcare, and they also want to be able to keep their health insurance,” says Neera Tanden, Joe Biden’s former domestic policy adviser, now CEO of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
Mainstream establishment Democrats acknowledge that many people see healthcare as a right, but they insist that others strongly oppose a fully government-run programme, fearing lower standards of care, and insist on having the option of keeping their private health insurance.
Healthcare costs have gone up across the board – health insurance and out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, hospital expenses and prescription drug costs have all surged in recent years, rising faster than the rate of inflation. As medical expenses have increased, polls suggest the idea of universal healthcare isn’t as outlandish as it once seemed, and this campaign cycle has shown that it’s far less taboo for politicians to openly call for it.
Back in Georgia, it’s an issue on which Tamara and James agree – they want universal healthcare.
But their most fundamental disagreement is over Israel. Tamara calls herself a Zionist. “My kids get mad at me for saying that,” she said.
And they’re hardly the only Democrats having this debate.
