Duckworth says now not time for Sanders' 'Medicare for All' healthcare fix [View all]

WASHINGTON • Freshman Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth says she opposes, at least for now, a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to make Medicare available for anyone seeking health insurance.

Duckworth, a Democrat and decorated veteran who lost both legs in Iraq after the helicopter she was piloting was shot down, told the Post-Dispatch this week that she is in the middle of pessimism and optimism on whether Congress can do something to fix the problems with the Affordable Care Act that she says are evident.

And a lot of that, Duckworth said, is dependent on whether quiet talks to shore up the ACA between Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray continue, or if they are overwhelmed by renewed GOP attempts to pass an overhaul of Obamacare in the Senate.

In an interview in her office, where her Purple Heart is memorialized in a display in her reception area, Duckworth talked about her disappointment with the partisanship that has plagued Congress throughout her entirety here. She served in the House of Representatives, including a stint on the fiercely divided Benghazi investigation committee, for two terms before defeating Republican Sen. Mark Kirk last November.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/duckworth-says-now-not-time-for-sanders-medicare-for-all/article_16174fd2-0203-5704-bcf8-cf53a0bc11ed.html