Houston - Former Vice President Joe Biden
and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders –
the trio leading public polling for the 2020 Democratic
presidential nomination – wasted no time in Thursday's debate
clashing over the best way to expand healthcare coverage for
Americans.
The divide among the candidates over the proposal known as
Medicare for All, which would cover every American under a
government health plan and essentially eliminate private
insurance, was again laid bare in the opening moments of the
Democratic Party's third presidential debate in Houston.
But after some sharp exchanges, several of the White House
contenders warned that too much acrimony would distract them
from the ultimate goal: defeating Republican President Donald
Trump next year.
Here are some early highlights from the debate:
'THE DAMN BILL'
The first question of the night went to Biden, asking him
whether liberals like Warren and Sanders had gone too far left
for mainstream Democrats.
Biden quickly pivoted to healthcare, challenging Sanders of
Vermont and Warren of Massachusetts to explain how they plan to
pay for what some analysts expect would be a $30 trillion
Medicare for All plan.
"Thus far, my distinguished friend, the senator on my left,
has not said how she's going to pay for it," said Biden,
referring to Warren.
Both Warren and Sanders were careful to avoid saying
explicitly that middle-class families would see higher taxes,
instead emphasizing that they would save money overall by
eliminating medical costs.
"Those at the very top, the richest and corporations, are
going to pay more," Warren said. "Middle-class families are
going to pay less."
Sanders acknowledged the cost of his signature plan – but
said studies show the status quo will cost Americans $50
trillion over the same time period.
"I wrote the damn bill, if I may say so," he said, repeating
his main applause line from the second debate in July.
Biden emphasized again that his plan would allow people who
like their private insurance to keep it, a key point of
distinction from Sanders' and Warren's approach.
"Let's be clear - I've actually never met anybody who likes
their health insurance company," Warren replied. "I've met
people who like their doctors."
When Sanders noted Americans spend far more per capita on
healthcare than Canadians, Biden interrupted, saying, "This is
America."
"Americans don't want to pay twice as much as other
countries," Sanders shot back.
From left, Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro. Picture: Eric Gay/AP
MEDICARE FOR ALL: A BOLD IDEA OR A BAD IDEA?
Other candidates seeking to make their mark on the stage
also took aim at Sanders' Medicare for All plan.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has run as a
moderate, said Sanders' proposal would force millions of people
off their insurance plans.
"While he wrote the bill, I read the bill," she said. "I
don't think that's a bold idea, I think that's a bad idea."
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg sought to contrast
his proposal to offer a government plan as an alternative, which
he describes as "Medicare for all who want it," with Sanders'
more sweeping reform.
"The problem is that it doesn't trust the American people,"
he said of the senator's plan. "I trust you to choose what makes
the most sense for you."
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California, who has released
her own Medicare for All plan, redirected the conversation
toward Trump, noting that the current administration has sought
to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, commonly known as
Obamacare, in federal court.
"I think this discussion has given the American people a
headache," she said. "What they want to know is that they're
going to have healthcare and the cost."
'A HOUSE DIVIDED'
Although the candidates had a heated discussion about
healthcare in the first 40 minutes of the debate, several
stressed the importance of standing together as Democrats,
saying fighting one another would play into Trump's hands.
Moments after former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro,
44, of Texas accused Biden, 76, of forgetting what he had just
said two minutes ago – a comment seemingly aimed at Biden's age
that many in the audience jeered – Buttigieg called for
civility.
"This is why presidential debates are becoming unwatchable,"
Buttigieg said. "This reminds everybody of what they cannot
stand about Washington. Scoring points against each other,
poking at each other."
Castro was unbowed. "That's called a Democratic primary
election. That's called an election. This is what we're here
for, it's an election."
"Yeah, but a house divided cannot stand," said Klobuchar,
quoting former President Abraham Lincoln.
That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New
Jersey, who said while they had differences on how to pay for
and deliver healthcare, every person on stage believed in
universal care.
"We cannot sacrifice progress on the altar of purity," he
said.