Meet the Press interviews during 2019: on Health Care
Deval Patrick:
Would support public option; open to other points of view
We've delivered, in Massachusetts, healthcare to over 98% of our residents. I don't think there's another state that has gotten that far. The whole business of trying to get system costs down is a national challenge. Having a public option, which is my
preferred approach, maybe Medicare is that public option, that's a way. If you want to make a reform that lasts, then you have to make room for other points of view to accomplish that ambitious goal.
Source: NBC Meet the Press on 2019 Democratic primary
Nov 3, 2019
Donald Trump:
Decided not to kill ObamaCare, but still it's not good
I could have managed ObamaCare so it would have failed or I could have managed it the way we did so it's as good as it can be. Not great, but it's as good -- It's too expensive and the premiums are too high. I had a decision to make.
I could have politically killed ObamaCare. I decided not to do it. But still it's not good. We're going to come up with great health care if we win the House, the Senate and the presidency.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview series
Jun 23, 2019
Bernie Sanders:
Medicare-for-All will lead to stability, not disruption
Every time somebody loses their job, every some -- every time some employer changes health insurance policy, there is disruption. That impacts tens of millions of people. When you have Medicare for all, you will finally have stability.
Everybody in the country will have comprehensive healthcare, covering all basic healthcare needs. We will save taxpayers, we will save the citizens of this country, on healthcare, substantial sums of money.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 19, 2019
Michael Bennet:
Public option better than Medicare for All
My suggestion on Medicare X creates a true public option, administered by Medicare, rather than threatening to take away insurance from 180 million people, 80% of whom like it, all the unions in America that have negotiated for their healthcare plans.
I think that the American people have waited long enough for universal healthcare.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 5, 2019
Jay Inslee:
Public option; more access to Medicare by lowering age
We will be the first state in the country to offer a public option. We are integrating physical and mental health, so it can be more effective and cost effective. On the federal level, we've got to have more access to Medicare on the road to universal
access. And I believe that we need to reduce the age. I think we need to allow people to opt into Medicare when they want it. This is the way to what we need and have to have, which is universal health care in the country.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 14, 2019
Mitt Romney:
Repeal Obamacare; Federal-state partnerships instead
I think what you're going to see from Republicans is a federal-state partnership, where the federal government sets the parameters and the states are given more flexibility to create ways to care for their own low-income individuals. I think you're
going to see proposals coming from our side that say, "Look, we can make the current system of private insurance, which 75, 80% of Americans have, we can keep that in place, get costs down, more flexibility. And Obamacare needs to be repealed."
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
Amy Klobuchar:
We can bring drug prices down; Trump can't
Q: Is there anything Trump's done as president that wasn't bad?A: There are a number of things that he's said he wants to do, like bring down prescription drug prices, that I agree with.
My problem is, he doesn't have the will to actually get it done. Insulin, simple drug prices tripling, quadrupling, doesn't make any sense. We can bring those drug prices down.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Mar 17, 2019
Michael Bennet:
Make public plan optional; others can keep private insurance
There are two big projects for America on healthcare. One is covering everybody. It is a disgrace that we are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't cover everybody. And the other thing we need to figure out how to do is not spend
twice as much on healthcare as we spend -- as any other industrialized country spends on healthcare to get worse results. That's what we're doing as a country. We've got to figure out how to do those two things.
And I actually would give the Nobel Prize to whoever can figure out how to do those two things. I think we'd be much better off with a bill like the one I have with Tim Kaine called Medicare X, that creates a public option. It helps finish the work
of ObamaCare. It says to America, "If you want to be in a public plan, you can choose to be in a public plan. If you want to keep your insurance, you can keep your insurance."
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary
Feb 10, 2019
Page last updated: Jan 12, 2020