Hillary Clinton reaffirmed her support on Saturday for creating a “public option” within Obamacare and allowing people to enroll in Medicare at age 55. 
 
 The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also called for a substantial increase in funding in medical clinics that serve low-income Americans, fully embracing a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). 
 
 While Clinton has long supported the creation of new government-run insurance options and reiterated that support several times this year, Saturday’s statement comes three days before she is scheduled to make her first joint campaign appearance with Sanders ― who has championed government-run insurance and federally financed clinics throughout his career and during his own bid for the presidency. 
 
 Sanders, who ran a surprisingly strong but ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination, is expected to endorse Clinton at that Tuesday event. Saturday’s announcement on health policy follows a similar one from Clinton earlier in the week, that she was enhancing her own proposal on college tuition assistance to match the considerably more generous version Sanders had sketched out. 
 
 In describing the proposals to The Huffington Post, senior Clinton campaign aides noted that Sanders had championed these ideas ― and, in particular, that the former Secretary of State’s funding proposal for the clinics matched one that the independent senator had made. 
 
 Already, the Affordable Care Act has expanded coverage to 20 million Americans. Hillary Clinton 
 
 “We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable health care to everyone in America,” Clinton said in a press release that the campaign circulated late Saturday morning. “Already, the Affordable Care Act has expanded coverage to 20 million Americans. As president, I will make sure Republicans never succeed in their attempts to strip away their care and that the remaining uninsured should be able to get the affordable coverage they need to stay healthy.” 
 
 Sanders said in a conference call shortly afterwards that the announcement was the product of discussion between the two campaigns. He praised Clinton’s proposal in strong, unambiguous terms ― describing it as “an extremely important initiative” and predicting that “it will save lives, it will ease suffering, it will improve health care in America, and it will cut health care costs.” 
 
 The idea of the public option ― as first sketched out by Jacob Hacker, a Yale political scientist ― is to create a separate, government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers offering coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. The hope is that this competition can help keep premiums for all the insurance plans low, particularly if the government-run plan has the ability to dictate low reimbursement rates to doctors, hospitals, drugmakers, and other suppliers of medical care. 
 
 President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders included versions of the public option in their proposals when they first began working on health care reform in 2009. But they ended up jettisoning the idea in response to protests from more conservative Democrats, who were less enthusiastic about government programs and industry groups, like hospitals and insurance companies, that feared what a public option would do to their income streams. 
 
 The idea of a Medicare buy-in has been around for even longer, although it, too, appeared in 2009 when Democrats were drawing up health care legislation. The goal, again, would be to give consumers ― in this case, those older than 55 and at greater risk of becoming sick ― one more insurance option if they can’t get coverage through an employer or an existing government program. 
 
 Clinton has expressed support for both ideas during the 2016 campaign, noting that she had called for them previously. (She made a public option part of her campaign proposal to reform health care in 2008.) But campaign aides said Saturday’s announcement is a reminder of how seriously she takes the idea ― and her determination to promote it as president. 
 
 Jim Young / Reuters U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s call to increase funding for federally run health clinics is a bit more specific, in that she’s put a dollar figure on it. It would be $40 billion over 10 years. 
 
 That might reassure some of the progressive Sanders supporters skeptical of Clinton’s commitment to their values and goals ― and, in some cases, angry at her attacks on Sanders’ proposal to create a single, government-run insurance plan that would provide coverage to all Americans, supplanting private insurance altogether. 
 
 Of course, Clinton’s announcement comes with no policy details. She isn’t answering any of the many complicated questions that either proposal would raise ― like exactly how either the Obamacare public option or Medicare buy-in plan would pay the providers of medical services, or exactly who could enroll in either one. 
 
 Clinton’s call to increase funding for federally run health clinics is a bit more specific, in that she’s put a dollar figure on it. It would be $40 billion over 10 years. She hasn’t identified new revenue or spending cuts to cover the cost of the proposal, but she has said that she will remain true to her pledge to pay for the price of any proposals ― a pledge that she has largely kept in this campaign, independent budget analysts say. 
 
 And while the clinic proposal likely to get a lot less attention than anything Clinton says about the public option of Medicare, the idea, if implemented, could help a great many people get medical care. 
 
 The clinics are the backbone of the nation’s health care safety net, providing primary care to millions of Americans who either have no health insurance or whose insurance doesn’t meet their needs ― a group that, even after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, is large and underserved. 
 
 About one in 14 Americans currently gets health care through a federally funded clinic, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s thanks to annual funding of about $5 billion, a big chunk of which comes from a provision in the Affordable Care Act that Sanders championed. 
 
 “This would be a substantial infusion of funding,” Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, told HuffPost. “More funding for community health centers creates an infrastructure to care for increasing numbers of insured people and also provides resources to reach the remaining uninsured to encourage them to get covered.” 
 
 Federal clinics happen to be one of the few government-run healthcare programs with a history of strong bipartisan support. George W. Bush was a big fan during his presidency, for example. So while both a public option and Medicare buy-in would likely run into the same political opposition that stopped them in 2009,more money for clinics would have a chance of becoming law even with Republicans controlling a house of Congress. 
 
 This article has been updated to include more specific details on Clinton’s proposal and reactions to it. ||||| Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.t, right, speaks as Hillary Clinton listens during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York on April 14, 2016. (Photo: Seth Wenig, AP) 
 
 WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton on Saturday announced her plan to expand investments in community health care centers, the second of two proposals in a week apparently aimed at courting supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders ahead of his possible endorsement. 
 
 The presumptive Democratic nominee's proposal would double funding for primary care services at Federally Qualified Health Centers, which serve populations with limited access to health care. Community health care centers have been a key priority for Sanders, I-Vt., who successfully fought for the inclusion of $11 billion in funding for such centers in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. 
 
 Clinton also affirmed her commitment to giving Americans in every state the choice of a "public-option" insurance plan — which she supported during her 2008 presidential campaign and Sanders pushed for during the ACA debate — and allowing people below Medicare age to opt into the programby offering it to those who are 55 and older. 
 
 An hour after her health care announcement, Clinton's campaign announced firm details about her Tuesday campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., where Sanders is expected to endorse his primary campaign rival. The announcement does not mention Sanders. 
 
 "We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable health care to everyone in America," Clinton said in a statement. "Already, the Affordable Care Act has expanded coverage to 20 million Americans. As president, I will make sure Republicans never succeed in their attempts to strip away their care and that the remaining uninsured should be able to get the affordable coverage they need to stay healthy." 
 
 Sanders, in a press call timed 15 minutes after Clinton's announcement, said the proposal by Clinton — "working with our campaign" — is an important step forward in expanding access to health care and addressing a crisis in primary health care. 
 
 "It will save lives, it will ease suffering, it will improve health care in America and it will cut health care costs," he said. "It is a significant step forward as we advance toward the goal of health care for for all Americans." 
 
 The announcement follows a higher education proposal Clinton released Wednesday that Sanders called a “bold initiative” to “revolutionize the funding of higher education in America.” That proposal is designed to eliminate college tuition for working families and reduce debt. 
 
 Sanders was asked if he is now in a position to endorse Clinton. 
 
 "It’s fair to say that the Clinton campaign and our campaign are coming closer and closer together in trying to address the major issues facing this country, which is what my campaign was all about, and we look forward to continue working with the Clinton campaign and will have more to say in the very near future," he said. 
 
 Sanders has long called for a "Medicare-for-all" proposal that would grant all Americans access to health care through a single-payer national program. During the primary campaign, Clinton questioned how he'd pay for his proposal and said she wants to defend and build on the progress made by the Affordable Care Act. She accused him during a debate of wanting to "tear (the ACA) up and start over again," a claim he rejected. 
 
 Her proposal Saturday would extend the current mandatory funding for community health centers and expand it by $40 billion over the next 10 years. A Clinton campaign official said the proposal would be fully paid for with savings, innovations and tax reform that closes loopholes and "makes the wealthiest pay their fair share." 
 
 Community health centers provide care for about 25 million people in the United States, more than half of whom are Hispanic or African Americans, according to the Clinton campaign. Sanders said the centers offer savings to the overall health care system of $49 billion a year, and access to health care when people need it avoids costly illnesses, hospital stays and trips to the emergency room. 
 
 "These are good investments for patients and these are very good investments for taxpayers," he said. He said Clinton's efforts to provide Americans with the choice of a public-option insurance plan and to expand Medicare "will get us closer to the day when everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care.” 
 
 Clinton's announcement came on a day when Democrats in Orlando were finalizing the party platform they will bring to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month. 
 
 The 187-member Platform Committee voted down an amendment by a Sanders supporter that would have blocked a vote in Congress on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed 12-nation trade pact that Sanders says will hurt U.S. workers and the environment. But they approved an amendment by a Clinton representative that, without explicitly opposing the TPP, says that Democrats will oppose trade agreements that do not support good American jobs, raise wages and improve national security. 
 
 Platform language aimed at blocking the TPP was a top priority for Sanders. Warren Gunnels, Sanders' policy director, said the campaign is "very disappointed" that the Sanders-backed amendment failed, but he said it's "good news" that virtually everyone who spoke during the debate made it clear they oppose the TPP. 
 
 "Sen. Sanders, Sec. Clinton and the overwhelming majority of Democrats agree: the TPP should not come up for a vote after the election," Gunnels said in a statement. "If Democrats are going to prevail in November we must make clear to the American people that we stand firmly against the TPP. We will continue fighting to protect American jobs and to ensure Congress does not pass this disastrous trade agreement." 
 
 Sanders has said he is prepared to bring amendments to the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia if the party doesn’t take more progressive stances in its platform. A convention floor fight seems unlikely now, given his confirmation that he is preparing to endorse Clinton. 
 
 Follow @ngaudiano on Twitter. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/29qNDpD ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A trade deal fight led by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday failed to fully materialize as rival and presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced a compromise to expand mandatory healthcare funding over the next decade. 
 
 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church during their annual convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 8, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller 
 
 At a meeting of the Democratic Party draft platform committee in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, supporters of Sanders were unable to influence the committee to adopt strong language opposing the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, marking a powerful blow to the efforts by the U.S. senator from Vermont to push the party further to the left. 
 
 “We did everything we could to win that vote,” said Sanders policy adviser Warren Gunnels. “It was very disappointing.” 
 
 Instead of a condemnation specific to the TPP, the committee reached language saying they would oppose “trade agreements that do not support good American jobs.” 
 
 Sanders has headed the effort on the U.S. left to oppose the TPP and trade deals like it, which he says are unfair to American workers. Clinton has also come out as opposed to the agreement. 
 
 Despite Clinton having already secured the requisite delegates to clinch the party’s nomination at the July 25-28 convention, Sanders remains in the race to be the party’s nominee. 
 
 He has indicated that he would hold off on endorsing Clinton for the Nov. 8 general election fight against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump until she adopted policies and campaign language that more closely resembled his own more liberal tone. 
 
 “I would like to say that while this vote was disappointing, we have won some tremendous victories,” Gunnels said, including securing language in the draft supporting a federal $15 minimum wage, another trademark issue for Sanders. 
 
 On the same day, the Clinton campaign announced changes to its healthcare policy proposal, including increasing mandatory healthcare funding under the Affordable Care Act by $40 billion over the next 10 years, highlighting the significant influence Sanders still yields over the party. 
 
 “We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable healthcare to everyone in America,” Clinton said in a statement that included her intention to give Americans the choice of a public-option insurance plan and allow for individuals below Medicare age, beginning at 55, to opt in to the U.S. federal program that pays elderly Americans’ hospital bills. 
 
 Sanders has made combating healthcare costs a rallying cry of his campaign and often battled with Clinton during the primary race on how best to reach their shared goal of universal healthcare. 
 
 On Saturday, Sanders praised the updates to Clinton’s proposal as a step in the right direction to “save lives and ease suffering,” indicating, along with the more liberal tone in several parts of the 2016 platform draft, a growing compromise between the two camps. 
 
 For Clinton, an endorsement from Sanders - seen as a champion of the progressive left - could open the door to many of his supporters who have been reluctant to support the more moderate Clinton. 
 
 “The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding healthcare in America - and expanding health insurance and healthcare access to tens of millions of Americans,” he said in a statement. 
 
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 “I congratulate Secretary Clinton for this extremely important initiative.” 
 
 The New York Times reported on Thursday that an endorsement is imminent, and Sanders is expected to officially throw his support behind Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire early next week. 
 
 (This story corrects age at which individuals could opt in to Medicare under Clinton plan in paragraph 10)
– Hillary Clinton proposed making a public option insurance plan available to residents in every state and doubling funding for community health centers in an announcement Saturday, USA Today reports. Reuters calls the move evidence as to how much influence the campaign of Bernie Sanders has had on her positions. Clinton campaign aides tell the Huffington Post both proposals are ones that had been pushed for by Sanders. On the heels of Clinton announcing a college tuition plan similar to that of Sanders, Saturday's announcement is expected to clear the way for Sanders to endorse her Tuesday. "It’s fair to say that the Clinton campaign and our campaign are coming closer and closer together," Sanders said Saturday. "[We] will have more to say in the very near future." Clinton's proposal for a public option would create a government-run insurance plan to go up against private insurance plans available through ObamaCare. She supported a public option when she ran for president in 2008, and Sanders fought for one in 2010. Sanders also won $11 billion in funding for community health centers in 2010. A third proposal from Clinton announced Saturday would allow people to enroll in Medicare at 55. The proposals expand health care funding by $40 billion over the next decade. Sanders says Clinton's healthcare plan “will save lives, it will ease suffering, it will improve health care in America, and it will cut health care costs." He had implied in the past that he wouldn't endorse Clinton until her policies got more liberal.