Healthcare is a center-stage issue for the 2020 election cycle, both in the Democratic primary and the general election. Democratic contenders have differing views on healthcare, but all candidates want government to take up a bigger role in the insurance market. Far-left candidates, Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have pledged to completely destroy the private insurance market with a Medicare for All system, which boats a trillion dollar price tag. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Pete Buttigieg have all come out in favor of plans with a more modest cost; although these plans, similar to a public option, require less government funding, each still represents an overhaul of the insurance market.
Pete Buttigieg, who has emerged as a top-tier candidate after the Iowa caucuses, causually brushed off the fact that millions of Americans would lose their preferred insurance under a system exclusively run by the government, as we've seen under the Affordable Care Act:
??????WOW??????@PeteButtigieg's response to the fact that 180 million Americans could lose their preferred health insurance plans because of Medicare for All: "To be honest. I don't care." pic.twitter.com/sCBhOOGomF
— America First (@AmericaFirstPAC) February 18, 2020
After the Democratic primary, the eventual nominee will have to answer these questions regarding health care plans. Aside from the hefty price tags attached to each candidate's plan, government healthcare restricts consumer choice and causes millions of Americans to be kicked off of their health insurance.