A question about Medicare for all during Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate touched off a sharp exchange between Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
"First of all, I agree with Bernie about what the fundamental challenge is we are facing as a country," Bennet said. "Forty years of no economic growth for 90% of the people and 160,000 people in the top .1% as the same wealth as the bottom 90% and we have the worst income inequality. Where I disagree is on his solution of Medicare for all."
Bennet then made the point he believes Sanders' idea of mandatory, government-run healthcare for all Americans is going too far.
"We need to get to universal healthcare," Bennet said. "I believe the way to do that is by finishing the work we started with Obamacare and creating a public option that every family and person in America can make a choice for their family about whether they want a public option for them would be like having Medicare for all and if they want to keep their insurance."
That answer prompted several of the nine other candidates on the stage to pipe in, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Sanders even appeared to shake his head as Bennet was speaking.
"In Sen. Sanders' bill that is the transition, which merges what the two senators said," Gillibrand added. "The truth is if you have a buy in over a four or five-year period, you move us to single payer more quickly."
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