Seven Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in South Carolina to debate the issues as the primary elections heat up.
Here's what the candidates said about health and healthcare:
1. Many of the candidates criticized President Donald Trump's coronavirus response, particularly his cuts in funding to key public health agencies like the CDC. Former Vice President Joe Biden also stressed foreign relations as part of the response. He said, "I would be on the phone with China and making it clear, we are going to need to be in your country; you have to be open; you have to be clear; we have to know what's going on; we have to be there with you; and insist on it and insist, insist, insist."
2. The candidates acknowledged the growing lack of access to healthcare in rural areas. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar drew attention to the looming shortage of clinicians in rural areas. "We're not going to have a shortage of sports marketing degrees. We're going to have a shortage of plumbers and nurses," she said. Along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., she highlighted the importance of loan forgiveness and free tuition programs to attract medical students to rural areas.
Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Ind., blamed the issue on voter suppression. "We're seeing hospital closures right and left," he said. "And we're seeing them, in particular, in states where Medicaid was not expanded, something that is hurting black and poor white families and is largely the result of racial voter suppression."
3. Mr. Sanders' newly released plan to pay for "Medicare for All" took hits from other candidates. Following the release of a funding plan earlier this week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said his plan "doesn't show enough about how we're going to pay for it."
Ms. Klobuchar said, "The math doesn't add up."
Mr. Sanders said the plan will save money, referring to a recent study published in The Lancet that estimated Medicare for All would reduce healthcare spending by about $450 billion each year.
4. Public health initiatives were also discussed. Mr. Biden committed to investing $50 billion in five years in programs that address obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's and cancer. "We're going to make that investment because no one else is willing to make that investment," he said.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, known for his efforts to ban sugary drinks and smoking indoors, shied away from making any specific commitments around public health issues. "What's right for New York City isn't necessarily right for all the other cities, otherwise you would have a naked cowboy in every city," he said. He acknowledged the country's rates of obesity are too high and said, "We should do something about that."
Read the full debate transcript here.
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