John Delaney says Democrats are talking too much about "Medicare for All" and not enough about mental health care.

The former Maryland congressman running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination said Wednesday that his fellow Democrats should reframe their discussions rather than centering on "Medicare for All" and single-payer health care — policies he opposes.

“That’s the extent of the discussion around health care, and I just think it’s really misguided,” he said in an interview with the Register.

Delaney released a plan Wednesday morning he said would provide more mental health services to Americans. He then discussed the plan at the Des Moines Public Library downtown branch with six Iowans whose jobs heavily overlap in the mental health field.

Under his plan, the federal government would help pay for more mental health professionals in schools, jails and prisons and increase Medicare reimbursement rates — what doctors are paid to see Medicare recipients.

On reimbursement rates, he said the rates are so low in places like New Hampshire, whose Democrats will vote in their primary right after the Iowa caucuses, fewer medical students want to become a mental-health provider. With fewer providers, patients have a harder time finding care, especially in rural areas.

The government currently subsidizes employer-sponsored health insurance to the tune of $4 trillion over the next 10 years, Delaney said. He'd eliminate that subsidy and instead use that money to fund his universal health plan, which would incorporate the mental health provisions.

Cindy Swanson, a teaching and learning specialist with the Iowa State Education Association, said during the roundtable discussion that Iowa’s schools need more care providers because the buildings’ educators are shouldering too much of the burden.

“It’s not only payment, but the providers,” she said.

Delaney said he has friends and family both who live with mental illnesses.

“I challenge anyone who hasn’t (known someone with mental illness),” he said. “If they haven’t, they’ve been awfully blessed.”

Peggy Huppert, the executive director of NAMI Iowa, said Delaney was well-versed on the problems facing the behavioral health system. She’s willing to talk with the other candidates and campaigns on mental health, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose staff has been in touch.

Huppert said mental health has gotten more attention on the state level, particularly during last year’s governor’s race in Iowa, and it’s improving at the national level. She credited “many years of suffering that finally reached a tipping point,” forcing public policymakers to take action and learn.