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From left, Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders on the debate stage in Atlanta. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Bernie Sanders, right, with Joe Biden. (John Bazemore / Associated Press)
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Sens. Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris. (John Bazemore / Associated Press)
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Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.
(John Bazemore/Associated Press)
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
(Saul Loeb /AFP/Getty Images)
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Andrew Yang, left, and Tom Steyer.
(Getty Images)
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Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)
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Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.
(Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders on television monitors in the media room. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
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Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
(John Bazemore / Associated Press)
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Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden.
(Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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From left, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
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From left, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls on stage in Atlanta on Wednesday. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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The audience waits for candidates to arrive.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
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Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)
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Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang. (John Bazemore / Associated Press)
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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota speaks to reporters after the debate in Atlanta. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
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Joe Biden greets the audience after the debate. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)
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Cory Booker, left, with Andrew Yang. (John Amis / Associated Press)
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Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey speaks to reporters after the debate. (John Amis / Asscociated Press)
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Pete Buttigieg after the fifth Democratic debate. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images )
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Elizabeth Warren greets supporters after the debate. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images )
The battle over “Medicare for all” arose again Wednesday night as Democratic candidates sparred over what kind of healthcare overhaul is practical and politically feasible.
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., raised the issue unprompted, arguing that his policy of “Medicare for all who want it” would be “a governing strategy we can unify the American people around.”
It was an implicit swipe at his progressive rivals who are pushing a more expansive public healthcare system.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose support for Medicare for all has drawn fire from her more moderate opponents, played up her recently released plan, emphasizing that the massive overhaul she backs would not happen immediately.
“Here is my plan: Let’s bring as many people in and bring as much help to American people as we can, as fast as we can,” Warren said.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the most ardent backer of government-run healthcare, jovially thanked the moderators for bringing him into the discussion, repeating his former debate quip: “I wrote the damn bill!”
Sanders said that Medicare for all was politically viable because American voters “understand today the current healthcare system is not only cruel, it is dysfunctional.” He vowed to introduce a bill for single-payer healthcare within the first week of his presidency.
Former Vice President Joe Biden countered that such an action would run into political roadblocks, noting that Democrats in Congress remain reticent about the proposal.
He touted his own plan to expand on the Affordable Care Act by including a public insurance option.
The American people “will get to choose,” Biden said. “I trust the American people to make a judgment in what’s in their interest.”
