Warren slows universal coverage

WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren announced Friday that she won’t immediately push to give every American governmentfunded health care and instead will work to oversee passage of a sweeping “Medicare for All” program by the end of her third year if elected president — a significant step away from a plan she has long championed.

The Massachusetts Democratic senator released a health care transition plan that vows to build on existing programs, including the Obama administration’s signature Affordable Care Act, to expand public health insurance during her first 100 days in office.

Warren then says she’ll work with Congress to pass pieces of a universal coverage proposal more gradually, with the whole thing being ready “no later than” her third year in office.

Allowing more time underscores Warren’s — or any candidate’s — difficulty in delivering on universal health coverage. Winning congressional approval would be a heavy lift, no matter which party holds the House and Senate.

“Every serious proposal for Medicare for All contemplates a significant transition period,” Warren wrote in an online post. “My plan will be completed in my first term.”

Friday’s announcement represented a major move toward the political middle for Warren on an issue that has been one of the most important to voters in the Democratic primary.

“Warren is trying to thread a very tricky political needle here,” said Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “Warren clearly still supports Medicare for all, but she is not putting all of her eggs in that basket.”