Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown warned Sunday that an effort to establish “Medicare for all” would be protracted and difficult, breaking from other prospective presidential candidates.
“I think ‘Medicare for all’ will take a while, and it’s difficult” Brown told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
Brown, who said he is considering running for president, called instead for expanding the availability of Medicare to people 50 years or older.
“I want to help people now,” Brown said. “That’s why you do Medicare at 50.”
Many announced and potential candidates for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination have called for establishing a “Medicare for all” – a national, government-run system – approach to health care, but Brown has said he wants to allow more people to be able to buy into Medicare and cast his position in terms of political feasibility. Brown also introduced a health care bill earlier this month that he said would drive down drug prices.
Brown also called for a repeal of the tax plan President Donald Trump signed into law in 2017 and to implement his own plan to change corporate behavior.
He told CNN that “of course” the wealthiest earners should pay more, but that it should come as part of his plan “to align corporations’ incentives with what’s good for communities.”
Brown has already visited key early primary states, and he said Sunday he planned to travel to more in the immediate future. However, he said he remained undecided on running, putting his odds of stepping in at “50/50,” or, he allowed, “51/49.”