As a presidential candidate in 2020, Joe Biden proposed a public option for health care coverage, under which Americans under 65 years old could choose to participate in a Medicare-style plan run by the government, instead of sticking with private insurance. 

But the idea quickly faded from the Democratic agenda on Capitol Hill. None of the major bills Biden enacted in 2021 and 2022 after passage by the Democratic-controlled House and Senate, including the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, contained provisions to make the public option a reality. 

Standalone legislation to enact a public option also floundered. In the current Congress, a Senate bill attracted 17 Democratic co-sponsors but did not advance beyond introduction. A House version of the bill attracted nine Democratic co-sponsors and also went nowhere.

We rate this a Promise Broken.