DEMS DEBATE | Sanders, Harris support nixing private insurance

MIAMI (AP)

9:40 p.m.

Only two of the 10 candidates on the second night of the 2020 Democratic presidential debate raised their hands when asked who supported abolishing private health insurance.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris both signaled their support for “Medicare for All” and eliminating private insurance.

Sanders has long championed a Medicare-style system to cover all Americans’ health care services.

The question was also asked on Wednesday to the first 10 debate candidates. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio were the only two to raise their hands.

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9:35 p.m.

Several Democratic presidential candidates are talking about the importance of health insurance in their personal lives as their family members were dying or they dealt with their own illnesses.

Vice President Joe Biden recalled during Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate the deaths of his first wife and baby daughter and, years later, his adult son. He says the best way to ensure all Americans have coverage is to build on “Obamacare” rather than to pass “Medicare For All.”

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) says as his father was dying earlier this year, he didn’t have to make medical decisions based on cost because his father had Medicare. He says all people should have the option to access “Medicare for all who want it.”

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet spoke about his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.