California Sen. Adam Schiff posted a video on X on Saturday saying that if Democrats take the majority, returning to the status quo from before President Donald Trump took office would not be enough and that the party should pursue a “bold agenda like Medicare for All.” In the clip, the senator argued the plan would “dramatically reduce costs and improve the lives of Americans.” The post drew many replies, with users questioning how the proposal would be paid for and pointing to the record of the Affordable Care Act.
The video shows Schiff arguing that Democrats cannot campaign only on reversing the years since President Donald Trump took office. “It is going to be completely inadequate to say, ‘Well, if you elect Democrats, we will take you back to the status quo before Donald Trump,’” he said. He added that if the party’s pitch is limited to restoring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, “that is a losing message.”
In the clip, he said Democrats “should do that, but we should also go well beyond that for things like Medicare for all.” He also said Republicans “have moved the country far and fast in a terrible direction,” and that Democrats “can move the country far and fast in a good direction.”
The roughly 41-second post does not show the questions that preceded the remarks or any detailed cost estimate. Schiff’s caption said a “bold agenda like Medicare for All” would “dramatically reduce costs and improve the lives of Americans,” a claim that is not independently confirmed in the video.
Responses to Schiff’s Medicare for All Remarks
Some users treated the idea as an empty pledge, with one writing, “Always the promise never the result,” and another calling it “an empty campaign promise.”
Others focused on cost, including a comment asking, “So I am assuming you have $4 trillion a year to pay for that?” A longer reply said independent estimates for single-payer coverage run “somewhere between thirty and forty-plus trillion dollars over a decade in new federal spending.”
Several commenters tied the pitch to the Affordable Care Act. One asked, “I thought you and Obama fixed the healthcare system with obamacare. What happened there?????” Another wrote, “You mean a bold agenda like the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)? That worked well!”
A separate user said no government program “saved anyone a penny” and that the ACA “caused insurance costs to SKYROCKET.”
Others questioned whether a government-run system would lower prices at all, with one comparing the claim to college tuition.
Schiff’s remarks now sit inside a larger fight over what Democrats should offer if they regain Congress. Online, the argument has settled less on the slogan than on cost, the Affordable Care Act’s record, and whether another government health plan would lower prices.
