Healthcare took up a substantial chunk of tonight’s Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa. The stage is divided on the issue, with Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) advocating fiercely for Medicare for All, while former Vice President Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) support more modest proposals with lower price tags.
Medicare for All sounds very nice when floated by politicians, which the slight popularity of the government overhaul legislation can be attributed to. However, polling shows that when confronted with the vast cost and tax increases that inevitably come with Medicare for All, those favorability numbers dwindle. The average American voter does not want to abolish private insurance, which is also a prerequisite for Medicare for All.
Sen. Klobuchar knows this to be true, and managed to nail Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the inconvenient economic and political realities of Medicare for All:
Klobuchar to Sanders on Medicare for All: "What I don’t agree with is his position on healthcare. This debate isn’t real. … Over two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate are not on the bill that the bill you and Senator Warren are on."
— Dan Merica (@merica) January 15, 2020
Sen. Klobuchar took Sen. Warren to task over her "Medicare for All" proposal: "You would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance." pic.twitter.com/XHf5VPyE1V
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 15, 2020
Although still costly and destructive to the economy, the healthcare plans pushed by Sen. Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden are more favorable with the American people, and Sen. Klobuchar appears to be in touch with this reality.