Andy Slavitt served as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama late in his presidency. Earlier this year, he launched an initiative called The United States of Care (USoC). Slavitt’s team promotes USoC via #HealthcareOverPolitics.
Here is my column on the background on why we launched @USofCare today. It’s to put #healthcareoverpolitics for all Americans.
Our broken health care politics are hurting instead of helping Americans https://t.co/KhXRRFJGlK via @USATODAY
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) February 6, 2018
He gained support from people across the political spectrum, including United States Senators,
The quality and affordability of care that Americans deserve from their health care system should be above partisan politics. Bravo, @ASlavitt. Let's work together to put #HealthcareOverPolitics. https://t.co/mDz03HKq4a
— Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) February 6, 2018
and celebrities active on political twitter:
Proud today to join w more than 50 leaders, patients, and experts to come together to say it’s time to put health care over politics. Sound good to you? Join us at https://t.co/GB1EOzVWJN #healthcareoverpolitics
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) February 6, 2018
However, progressive groups across the country called Slavitt and USoC out for its centrist values.
#HealthcareOverPolitics can be seen by @NYHCampaign in an attempt at single-payer in New York State. Anything less (like @ASlavitt pushing a profit driven center-right healthcare system masquerading as progressive) is violence against all for the profit of few.
— Syracuse DSA 🌹🏀🌹 (@syrDSA) February 7, 2018
They took issue with the way USoC positioned itself against the growing campaign for Medicare for All (which is also an interesting hashtag to follow).
—“Wait for politicians in DC” vacuous faux populist nonsense
—“#healthcareoverpolitics” healthcare is inherently political what does this even mean
—“Affordable” = technocratic qualifier; cynically moves healthcare from moral discussion of rights to technical problem to be hacked pic.twitter.com/b9Wc78EPrw— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) February 7, 2018
This lead to a lot of disagreements in tweets and threads under the original hashtag:
To argue in good faith, you must recognize that @USofCare founder Andy Slavitt says that "universal" healthcare is too divisive language. So you too should stop asking for it if you wish to put #healthcareoverpolitics. pic.twitter.com/dZh7tfWh75
— Scott Wooledge 🌹 (@Clarknt67) February 9, 2018
Here’s a bonus perspective on United States of Care and #HealthcareOverPolitics from a progressive healthcare expert:
i sat down to write 800 words on @USofCare and then got spittin' mad and wrote 1200 more: https://t.co/zpirPNKSJQ
— kill 💀 tim 💀 faust (@crulge) February 8, 2018
Follow this hashtag more for insight into the disconnect between the center and left wings of the democratic party.