7 healthcare sound bites from Friday's Democratic debate

Emily Rappleye -

Democratic candidates debated the price tag of "Medicare for All," the ability to pass reforms through Congress and the decriminalization of opioids at the Feb. 7 debate.

Here are seven quick sound bites from the candidates:

1. Joe Biden, former vice president of the U.S., challenged Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his lack of detailed plan to pay for Medicare for All. "Bernie says, and he says he wrote the damn thing [Medicare for All], but he's unwilling to [tell us what] the damn thing's going to cost."

2. Mr. Sanders fired back at Mr. Biden. "If we do what Joe wants, we'll be spending some $50 trillion on healthcare over the next 10 years. That's the status quo, Joe."

3. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also took a swipe at Mr. Sanders' plan. "I keep listening to this same debate, and it is not real. It is not real, Bernie, because two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate are not on your bill and because it would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years."   

4. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., focused on what was in the president's power to accomplish. "On day one, I will defend the Affordable Care Act and I will use march-in orders to reduce the cost of commonly used prescription drugs like insulin, HIV/AIDS drugs and EpiPens."

5. Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Ind., had to defend his record after Ms. Klobuchar noted that he used to support Medicare for All, despite running on a public option platform. "Just to be clear, the truth is that I have been consistent throughout in my position on delivering healthcare for every American."

6. Tom Steyer, a hedge fund manager, wanted to redirect the healthcare conversation. " We're going to have to take Mr. Trump down on the economy, because if you listen to him, he's crowing about it every single day, and he's going to beat us unless we can take him down on the economy. … That's the issue here. It is not about who has the best healthcare plan."

7. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang discussed his support for decriminalizing opioid use. "We have to do everything in our power to actually make sure that if you are seeking treatment, you know you're not going to be sent to jail. We have safe injection and safe consumption sites for you. If you have a family member who's struggling, you can refer them and know that they're not going to have criminal penalties as a result."

More articles on leadership and management:

CEO of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals dies after bike accident
5 female leaders on building and developing teams
Bipartisan legislation to stop surprise medical bills is here

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.