As Millions Lose Health Insurance, the Washington Post Misleads About Medicare for All
The Post editorial board also didn’t mention owner Jeff Bezos has a major stake in the US healthcare debate.
Early this year, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos publicly asserted control over the storied newspaper’s opinion section. On Christmas Day, the Post editorial board published a gift for its owner, the world’s fourth-richest man: a flagrantly misleading column opposing Medicare for All.
The paper scoffed at people who “mistakenly believe Medicare for All is a good idea,” as Americans contend with an ever-worsening healthcare crisis. Later this week, millions of people will be on the hook for substantially higher health insurance premiums, or forego coverage altogether, thanks to Republicans’ policy decisions. In just over a year, the government will begin booting some millions of low-income Americans off Medicaid, again thanks to Donald Trump and the GOP. Employer health insurance costs, and the portion that workers pay, are spiking. The Post doesn’t engage with any of this.
At no point did the Post editorial board mention that Bezos, who is Amazon’s chairman and its largest shareholder, has a stake in the healthcare debate. For one thing, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren previously pitched financing their Medicare for All plans with a wealth tax on the richest Americans. Few are in the same stratosphere as Bezos, who’s worth an estimated $244 billion.
Then there’s the fact Amazon owns One Medical, a large primary care provider that previously warned investors that Medicare for All could harm its business.