NBC/CBC S.C. Democratic Debate: on Health Care

Bernie Sanders: I helped write ObamaCare; extend it to 29M more uninsured

CLINTON: The Democratic Party worked since Harry Truman to get the Affordable Care Act passed. I don't want see us start over again with a contentious debate. I want us to defend and build on the Affordable Care Act & improve it.

SANDERS: Her campaign was saying "Sanders wants to end Medicare." That is nonsense. I'm on the committee that wrote the Affordable Care Act. What a Medicare-for-all program does is finally provide in this country health care for every man, woman and child as a right. Now, the truth is: FDR and Truman, do you know what they believed in? They believed that health care should be available to all of our people. What we have to deal with is the fact that 29 million people still have no health insurance. My proposal: provide health care to all people, get private insurance out of health insurance, lower the cost of health care for middle class families by $5,000.

Hillary Clinton: We worked since Harry Truman to pass healthcare; defend it

CLINTON: I am absolutely committed to universal health care. I certainly respect Sen. Sanders' intentions, but when you're talking about health care, the details really matter. And therefore, we have been raising questions about the nine bills that he introduced over 20 years, as to how they would work and what would be the impact on people's health care? But here's what I believe, the Democratic Party worked since Harry Truman to get the Affordable Care Act passed. We finally have a path to universal health care. We have accomplished so much already. I do not to want see the Republicans repeal it, and I don't want see us start over again with a contentious debate. I want us to defend and build on the Affordable Care Act and improve it.

SANDERS: Her campaign was saying "Sanders wants to end Medicare." That is nonsense. I'm on the committee that wrote the Affordable Care Act.

Martin O`Malley: All-payer system: pay hospitals based on patient wellness

CLINTON: And that's exactly what we are able to do based on the foundation of the Affordable Care Act. What Governor O'Malley just said is one of the models that we will be looking at to make sure we do get costs down, we do limit a lot of the unnecessary costs that we still have in the system.