Biden unveils plan to strengthen ObamaCare

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a plan on Monday to bolster ObamaCare by protecting people with pre-existing conditions, ​adding a “public option” like Medicare and using tax credits to lower premiums.

With the announcement, the former vice president set himself apart from other Democratic candidates who supported “Medicare for all,” including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris.

​”I understand the appeal of Medicare for All,” Biden said in a video posted ​Monday. “But folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of ObamaCare. And I’m not for that.”

​His campaign estimated the health care plan would cost about $750 billion over a decade and he proposed paying for it by rolling back some of President Trump’s tax breaks for the wealthy and by doubling the tax rates on capital gains.

Under his plan, Biden said, people could opt to purchase a private option plan like Medicare that would also reduce costs for patients by negotiating lower prices from hospitals and other health care providers.

To lower drug prices and create competition, Biden said, he would allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies and would give people the ability to buy prescription drugs from other countries.

The Democratic front-runner would also increase the value of tax credits to ensure that low-income and middle-income Americans would have access to health care.

Biden said the Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare, has been under attack by Republicans since President Barack Obama signed it into law in March 2010.

The Republican-led Congress came within one vote of repealing it in 2017 and the Trump administration is trying to have it struck down in the courts.