John Legend calls Pete Buttigieg's 'Medicare for All Who Want It' plan a 'trap'

• John Legend took issue with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's healthcare reform proposal in a series of tweets on Thursday arguing that the 2020 candidate's plan doesn't go far enough to protect Americans.
• Buttigieg's "Medicare for All Who Want It" plan would essentially add a public option to Obamacare.
• "It's a trap for progressives to try to talk about healthcare as some sort of free market like they're talking about tvs or cell phones," Legend tweeted. "Healthcare is a necessity and there's very little choice when you're actually sick. You need treatment and you need it to not bankrupt you."
• Critics of a public option, including those who favor Medicare for All, say it wouldn't adequately reign in healthcare costs and would leave the insurance industry with significant influence over Americans' healthcare coverage.
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John Legend took issue with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's healthcare reform proposal in a series of tweets on Thursday in which he argued that the 2020 candidate's plan doesn't go far enough to protect Americans.

"This myth of freedom and choice sounds wonderful til you realize your boss has the freedom and choice to fire you from this union job," the singer wrote, retweeting Buttigieg's message promoting his "Medicare for All Who Want It" plan for union workers.

Buttigieg's plan, like the one proposed by former Vice President Joe Biden, would essentially add a public option to Obamacare, opening up Medicare for those who don't have or want private insurance. Critics of a public option, including those who favor Medicare for All, say it wouldn't adequately reign in healthcare costs and would leave the insurance industry with significant influence over Americans' healthcare coverage.

"It's a trap for progressives to try to talk about healthcare as some sort of free market like they're talking about tvs or cell phones," Legend said. "Healthcare is a necessity and there's very little choice when you're actually sick. You need treatment and you need it to not bankrupt you."

He added, "And the so-called 'market' for healthcare is so opaque, there are few if any perfectly informed consumers. And no one can predict what healthcare they'll need in the future."

Spokespeople for Buttigieg's campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Legend and his wife, model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen, revealed in a Vanity Fair interview last fall that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was their pick in the 2020 Democratic primary.

"My favorite - I'm going to say it, we'll break news today - is Elizabeth Warren," Legend said. "She's the best candidate running today and she comes at it with joy and with sincerity and with a wealth of knowledge and experience."

Teigen echoed the sentiment, adding that she was also a fan of Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who later dropped out of the race.

Teigen and Legend have been outspoken critics of President Donald Trump. The trio engaged in an intense Twitter battle last fall over criminal justice reform, in which Trump called Legend a "boring" singer and called Teigen Legend's "filthy mouthed wife" without naming her.

Teigen's response to Trump's attack went viral: "lol what a p---y a-- b---h. tagged everyone but me. an honor, mister president."

This myth of freedom and choice sounds wonderful til you realize your boss has the freedom and choice to fire you from this union job. https://t.co/uADSQvouKU

- John Legend (@johnlegend) February 12, 2020