WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that single-payer health insurance is not a litmus test for Democrats and that she is focused on protecting health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, declined to endorse ‘‘Medicare for All’’ legislation backed by Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and called on Democrats to release a wide range of proposals to fix and improve President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. Sanders is expected later this week to unveil a bill that would extend Medicare coverage to all Americans.
‘‘I don’t think it’s a litmus test,’’ Pelosi said. ‘‘I think to support the idea that it captures is that we want to have as many people as possible, everybody, covered, and I think that’s something that we all embrace.’’
Pelosi said she would like all of the ideas to be vetted and analyzed by budget scorekeepers but believes none of them will succeed while the ACA is under attack from Republicans.
‘‘Right now I’m protecting the Affordable Care Act,’’ Pelosi said. ‘‘None of these things, whether it’s Bernie’s or others, can really prevail unless we protect the Affordable Care Act.’’
Several political organizations supportive of Sanders have said voters should reject any Democrats who don’t support ‘‘Medicare for All.’’ Nina Turner, who leads Sanders’s Our Revolution group, told Politico in the summer that there was ‘‘something wrong’’ with Democrats who did not endorse it. People for Bernie, a group that grew out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, started the week by urging progressives to call Democrats and demand they endorse Sanders’ bill.
But in an August interview, Sanders said he would continue supporting Democrats who declined to endorse his bill.
‘‘Is this a litmus test? No, you have to look at where candidates are on many issues,’’ Sanders said. ‘‘But you’re seeing more and more movement toward ‘Medicare for All.’ When the people are saying we need health care for everyone, as more and more Americans come on board, it will become politically possible.’’
Sanders has some support, including endorsements from Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Kamala D. Harris of California, all Democratic senators. But he’s not expected to win over a majority of Democrats.