At First AARP Forum, Presidential Candidates Talk Compensation For Caregivers, Age Discrimination And Drug Prices
All four of the participants at the first of five presidential candidate forums that AARP and the Des Moines Register are sponsoring in Iowa favored a more moderate expansion of health care coverage over progressive "Medicare for All" proposals. Monday's forum in Des Moines featured former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Des Moines Register:
Joe Biden On 'Medicare For All': 'Adding Another 300 Million People In One Fell Swoop ... Medicare Goes Away As You Know It.'
Any voter looking for a "Medicare for All" champion would have been out of luck Monday at a Democratic presidential candidate forum at Drake University. All four candidates at the forum, sponsored by AARP and the Des Moines Register, urged more gradual efforts to ensure health care for all Americans. The Democratic race's polling leader, former Vice President Joe Biden, explained his new health-care plan by saying he wouldn't force people who like their private insurance to switch. (Leys, 7/15)
Sioux City Journal:
4 Democrats Participating In AARP Forum Pledge To Keep Social Security Solvent
The 2020 hopefuls who participated in a forum sponsored by AARP Iowa and The Des Moines Register also supported adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage to more Americans but three balked at eliminating private insurance for those who prefer to keep their current health care coverage. (Boshart, 7/15)
Politico:
Biden Chokes Up During Iowa Forum
Joe Biden grew emotional, choking on his words and tearing up during a forum here Monday as he described the value of personal care givers, relating the discussion to the tragedies in his own life. “They should be rewarded, compensated for what they do. They're desperately needed, particularly in poor and rural areas,” Biden said at a AARP presidential candidate forum here, saying that “paid care givers are not paid very much at all.” (Korecki, 7/15)
