The Rheumatologist
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
  • Technology
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • Events
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
    • From the College
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Arthritis & Rheumatology
    • Arthritis Care & Research
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Research Reviews
    • Annual Meeting
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
    • Rheumatology Image Bank
    • ACR ExamRheum
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Table Stakes: The Right to Healthcare

Table Stakes: The Right to Healthcare

May 17, 2019 • By Philip Seo

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Chatchai.J / shutterstock.com

Chatchai.J / shutterstock.com

Table stakes.

You Might Also Like
  • Aetna CEO Urges Debate on What ‘Single-Payer’ Healthcare Would Be
  • U.S. Predicts 5.8% Average Rise in Healthcare Spending Through 2024
  • U.S. Lawmaker Yarmuth Says Democrats to Begin Medicare for All Hearings
Explore This Issue
May 2019
Also By This Author
  • The Non-Linear Path of Discovery, & Publicly Funded Research

It took me a moment to register what they were talking about.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

I was listening to Pod Save America, a wildly popular podcast put together by some of Barack Obama’s former speechwriters. It is, I imagine, what an MSNBC podcast might sound like if Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes were allowed to swear. Liberally. The hosts have taken it upon themselves to interview each of the many candidates who have decided to run for the office of president of the United States in 2020.

Admittedly, I wasn’t listening all that carefully. There is so much righteous anger on both sides of the aisle, it’s hard to take it all in. So when listening to pundits, I try to surf just at the surface, before the wave breaks, trying to avoid the undertow.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

But there was that phrase again: table stakes.

As I started to concentrate, and the words came into focus, I finally pieced together the parts of the conversation I had missed.

They were talking about Medicare for all.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Table stakes is actually a gambling term. In movies, we have all seen poker games depicted in which a femme fatale casually lays her diamond bracelet on the table, so the hero can win the hand. In practice, that doesn’t happen. Table stakes is the rule that a gambler can gamble only with the money he put on the table at the beginning of the game. It’s just not practical to play poker with someone who could match any bet by writing checks or pulling out a pink slip. In the Wild West, this rule also prevented players from trying to play with worthless I.O.U.s. If you wanted to play, you had to put your stake on the table to show you were serious. By extension, the table stake is the minimum you need to get into the game.

For Democratic hopefuls, signing on to Medicare for all is the table stake: It’s a central part of the 2020 catechism, the minimum Democratic candidates have to commit to for their candidacy to be taken seriously by party faithful.

It’s interesting to see a proposal that, just a few years ago, was branded as radical and extreme is now seen as mainstream. On Feb. 27, 2019, Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the latest iteration of a Medicare for all plan to the floor of the House of Representatives.1 It had 106 co-sponsors. In the Senate, Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren have all supported Bernie Sanders’ single-payer bill, which is a kissing cousin to the Medicare for all plans discussed in the House.

How did we get from there to here?

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 | Single Page

Filed Under: Rheuminations Tagged With: Medicare for All, OpinionIssue: May 2019

You Might Also Like:
  • Aetna CEO Urges Debate on What ‘Single-Payer’ Healthcare Would Be
  • U.S. Predicts 5.8% Average Rise in Healthcare Spending Through 2024
  • U.S. Lawmaker Yarmuth Says Democrats to Begin Medicare for All Hearings
  • U.S. House Democrats Introduce Sweeping Medicare for All Bill

ACR/ARP Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the ACR/ARP Meeting Abstracts site »

ACR/ARP Annual Meeting

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Annual Meeting site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2019 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.