U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-13) stood by her opposition to Medicare for All during a raucous Friday night town hall, but declined to say whether she supports providing health care to illegal aliens.
Slotkin said at an event last week that “no one can explain” how to fund Medicare for All, the health care plan supported by many of her progressive colleagues and some of the leading Democratic presidential candidates.
She did say, however, that she supports a public buy-in option wherein anyone could opt in for a government health care plan.
“I do not support Medicare-for-All,” Slotkin said during her Friday night health care forum. “First of all, let’s be clear on the terms. A lot of terms are thrown around when people say Medicare for All. Most people and most plans that I’ve seen mean single-payer, Canadian-style health care or other European-country style health care where everyone is enrolled on the same system. I will just tell you that my experience going around this district is that people want more choice not less.”
“They don’t want to be put onto a program that they don’t know about ahead of time. That’s why I think a buy-in to Medicare is a place to go because it gives people the opportunity to experience that option,” she continued.
Slotkin said many of her constituents lack trust in the government’s ability to “do small things” and are “nervous” about expanding “the things that the government is responsible for.”
Earlier in the forum, Slotkin dodged questions about whether she supports providing government health care to illegal immigrants and was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who demand she “answer the question.”
“Listen, this gets into the larger discussion about immigration and I think no matter what you think and where you are in the political spectrum, I think we have to acknowledge that our immigration system is broken—it is broken, from beginning to end,” Slotkin replied to the question.
“Build the wall! Build the wall!” chanted a group of Trump supporters who were displeased with Slotkin’s support of the impeachment inquiry.
“I believe deeply in muscular border security,” Slotkin continued. “Every country in the world has the right to know who’s coming in our borders and whether they pose a risk to us physically or a public health risk. Every country in the world needs to know that and has the right to know that. But you can have border security while you also have humanitarian standards for people. They are not mutually exclusive.”
The event was part of Slotkin’s “Costs of Care” tour across her district.
The full town hall can be watched below:
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
