Agonizing choices as Dems debate shrinking health care pie

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are fretting about how they’d divide a shrinking pie amid signs that negotiations over President Joe Biden’s massive domestic policy bill could yield a smaller serving of health care spending. The debate pits the needs of older adults who can’t afford dentures against low-income Black people uninsured in Southern states where Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion. Health care is foundational to Biden’s $3.5 trillion domestic policy bill, which ranges from taxes to climate change, child care to community college. When budget screws get applied, entire programs can disappear from legislative wish lists, or they can get authorized for a shortened time period.