Manchin shutting down Sanders on Medicare expansion

Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinAngus King: Losing climate provisions in reconciliation bill weakens Biden’s hands in Glasgow Independent senator: ‘Talking filibuster’ or ‘alternative’ an option Rep. Khanna expresses frustration about Sinema MORE (D-W.Va.) on Monday shut down one of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie SandersBernie SandersRepublican spin on Biden is off the mark Sanders on Medicare expansion in spending package: ‘It’s not coming out’ Briahna Joy Gray: Biden must keep progressive promises or risk losing midterms MORE (I-Vt.) biggest priorities, expanding Medicare, which Manchin warned would undermine the solvency of the broader program.

Sanders insisted in a tweet Saturday that his proposal to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision must be included in a budget reconciliation package, that is likely to come in well below the $3.5 trillion price tag Democratic leaders initially envisioned.

But Manchin on Monday threw cold water on Sanders’s push to expand Medicare, warning the program faces insolvency in 2026.

“My big concern right now is the 2026 deadline [for] Medicare insolvency and if no one’s concerned about that, I’ve got people — that’s a lifeline. Medicare and Social Security is a lifeline for people back in West Virginia, most people around the country,” Manchin warned.

“You’ve got to stabilize that first before you look at basically expansion. So if we’re not being fiscally responsible, that’s a concern,” he added.

That’s going to cause a problem with Sanders, whose vote is also essential to getting the budget reconciliation bill passed through the 50-50 Senate.

“The expansion of Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision is one of the most popular and important provisions in the entire reconciliation bill. It’s what the American people want. It’s not coming out,” Sanders tweeted over the weekend.

But Medicare’s board of trustees warned in a report to Congress at the end of August that the estimated depletion date for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is 2026. Furthermore,  spending on Medicare is expected to rise from 4 percent of GDP to 6.2 percent by 2045.

Manchin raised Medicare’s dim fiscal future as a major concern and a big reason not to expand it now, when the federal budget deficit is expected to hit $3 trillion for this year alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“I’ve always said that I believe that government should be your best partner but it shouldn’t be your provider. We have a moral obligation to provide to those who have incapacities such as physical or mental. But everyone else should be able to help and chip in and all that. So that’s my mindset,” he said.

Manchin also raised concern about a proposal being pushed by Sens. Raphael WarnockRaphael WarnockWill Trump choose megalomania over country? Senate Democrats call for diversity among new Federal Reserve Bank presidents On The Money — Democrats eye tough choices as deadline looms MORE (D-Ga.) and Jon OssoffJon OssoffWill Trump choose megalomania over country? How ‘Buy American’, other pro-US policies can help advocates pass ambitious climate policies Democrats…