<p class="wp-block-paragraph">House Minority Leader <a href="https://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hakeem-jeffries" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hakeem Jeffries</a> (D-NY) received a list this week from a working group led by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Terri Sewell (D-AL) outlining Democratic priorities on healthcare if the party gains control of the House in the upcoming November elections.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Democrats have campaigned on healthcare issues throughout the election cycle but have provided limited details on their potential agenda.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The new list, reported by <em>Punchbowl</em>, includes a variety of ideas that reflect the Democratic ideological spectrum and indicates the issues that could be pursued in January.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The working groups on affordability have made a lot of progress in diving deep into what kind of legislative efforts we can put forward in five different areas: housing, healthcare, gas and utilities, groceries and goods, and caregiving,” Jeffries stated to reporters on Thursday morning. “Those are five areas where we can expect to see decisive action.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, Jeffries acknowledged that his caucus has not yet reached consensus on specific policy proposals.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In terms of when we actually get to consensus on the legislative proposals, you know that’s a work in progress,” he added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The healthcare working group represents a range of perspectives within the Democratic Party, with progressive Ocasio-Cortez and centrist Sewell leading the initiative.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Democrats aim to flip the House to advance these priorities, much of the agenda may face challenges unless they secure veto-proof majorities in both chambers, particularly with President Donald Trump in office until January 2029.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Here are some healthcare priorities that Democrats are considering if they win the House in 47 days.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-restore-enhanced-obamacare-tax-credits">Restore Enhanced Obamacare Tax Credits</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Democrats sought to extend the Obamacare subsidies last year and early this year but encountered obstacles in the Republican-controlled Senate. Jeffries passed a bill, with some Republican support, to extend the subsidies, which expired on December 31 of last year, for three years.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The ending of the ACA subsidies have devastated Coloradans,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) stated to the <em>Washington Examiner</em>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Democrats attempted to leverage their position during a government funding dispute that led to a shutdown in an effort to extend the Obamacare tax credits last year but were unsuccessful. Their efforts during the funding negotiations indicate a strong push for this extension if they regain the majority.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-undo-medicaid-cuts-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act">Undo Medicaid Cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Democrats have campaigned against changes to Medicaid introduced in Trump’s tax bill, which increased work requirements for single, able-bodied adults. The GOP bill, passed last July, has been criticized by Democrats, who have held numerous events nationwide to oppose it.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“These cuts were enacted to provide massive tax breaks to billionaire MAGA Republican donors, and that’s why when we’re on the other side of the Nov. 3 general election, one of the first things we will endeavor to undertake is to reverse these painful Medicaid cuts,” Jeffries said earlier this year.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Hands off Medicaid, hands off Medicare, hands off the Affordable Care Act, and hands off the healthcare of the American people,” Jeffries added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This initiative is likely to be one of the first actions taken by a Democrat-controlled House in the new Congress.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-medicare-for-all">‘Medicare for All’</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The working group reportedly included the policy stance of “Medicare for All,” a long-standing priority for progressive and socialist candidates.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“There’s a large diversity of opinions in the caucus, so a lot of what we do is just compile all the different proposals among the caucus,” Ocasio-Cortez told <em>Punchbowl</em>. “Medicare for All is of course included.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Jeffries has previously supported Medicare for All legislation, he <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/hakeem-jeffries-rejects-medicare-for-all-dsa-agenda-12328842" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recently indicated</a> on <em>Meet the Press</em> that he has not cosponsored the Medicare for All legislation introduced in recent years.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jeffries’s shift highlights the complexities surrounding this issue within the House Democratic caucus and its potential to divide the party.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The issue has been divisive in Democratic primaries across both competitive and safe seats during this election cycle. More centrist Democrats have favored more modest healthcare priorities, while progressives, such as Abdul el Sayed in Michigan, have made “Medicare for All” a central theme of their campaigns.</p>