Harris’ Health Priorities Could Take More Progressive Stance Than Biden

Stat: Kamala Harris Healthcare Positions Are More Liberal Than Biden's
President Biden is ending his bid for a second term in office and backing Vice President Kamala Harris to take the nomination, he announced Sunday. While Harris shares similar views as Biden on many issues, she is to the left of the president on health care. (Zhang and Owermohle, 7/21)

Politico: How Kamala Harris’ Platform Could Differ From Joe Biden’s
President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris means that Harris could soon become the standard-bearer for the Democratic Party’s biggest priorities — including abortion rights, climate change and student debt relief. Her track record as a California attorney general, a U.S. senator and Biden’s No. 2 provides only so many clues about how she might lead. (7/21)

Stat: Kamala Harris' Health Care Views Win Backing From Progressives 
President Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would be dropping out of the presidential race left Democrats scrambling to rally around the next likely candidate on the 2024 ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris. The former California senator and attorney general found swift support from progressive and reproductive rights groups that championed her record on abortion policy and maternal health care, two longtime Harris policy priorities that Democrats hope will resonate with voters. (Owermohle and Zhang, 7/21)

Seeking Alpha: Kamala Harris' Potential Impact On Health Care Stocks  
Kamala Harris has engaged in issues involving health care since her days as California Attorney General. One of her most significant came in July 2016 when she joined 11 other state attorneys general to sue a proposed merger between Cigna International and Anthem, now known as Elevance Health. That deal eventually fell apart. A year earlier, she questioned the interest of Prime Healthcare, an operator of for-profit hospitals, in buying Daughters of Charity Health System, a safety-net system. Though the deal went through, there were hundreds of conditions attached. (Block, 7/21)

Politico: 9 Possible Running Mates Kamala Harris Could Pick
A number of names have been floated and all of them spoke out in support of President Joe Biden’s decision to step down — and even some are already voicing support of Harris as the nominee. Here’s a snapshot of potential vice presidential candidates and what they said after Biden’s historic decision on Sunday. (Frazier, Fuchs and Przybyla, 7/21)

Harris' stand on abortion rights —

Politico: Dem Ticket Shakeup Breathes New Life Into Abortion-Rights Fight 
The country’s biggest abortion-rights groups quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, either explicitly backing her bid for president in the wake of Joe Biden's announcement or, at the very least, praising her record. All argued that Harris’ ability to speak bluntly and forcefully on abortion rights — and her record on the issue as California attorney general, senator and vice president — give her an edge, particularly as her GOP opponents seek to dodge the issue. (Ollstein, 7/21)

KFF Health News: Harris, Once Biden’s Voice On Abortion, Would Take An Outspoken Approach To Health
Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, he leaned on the outspoken former prosecutor and senator he selected as his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights. Now, as Democrats rebuild their presidential ticket just a few months before Election Day, Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access if she became the party’s new presumptive nominee — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory. (Armour, Appleby and Rovner, 7/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: With Harris Out Front, It's The Border Vs. Abortion Election
Now that discussion of President Joe Biden’s age is off the table after he  ended his candidacy Sunday, the race for the White House will now be a battle over the issue that each side feels is their strongest:  It’s the border vs. abortion election. Vice President Kamala Harris, if she becomes the Democratic Party nominee, will be central to both. And that’s good news for Democrats, yes, even when it comes to immigration, as Republicans erroneously mock her for a job title she’s never held: “border czar.” (Garofoli, 7/21)

On the age issue —

Axios: Biden's Exit Makes Trump The Oldest Nominee In U.S. History
President Biden's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination could defuse the age question dogging the Democrats: Harris will be 60 on Inauguration Day — 22 years younger than Biden. Why it matters: Concerns over Biden's age and mental fitness were central to calls for his replacement as the Democratic nominee. Trump, at 78, becomes the oldest nominee in U.S. history if Harris or someone else younger than Trump succeeds Biden atop the Democratic ticket. (Rubin, 7/21)

The New York Times: The Promise, and Risks, in Turning to Kamala Harris
Unlike the 81-year-old Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, 59, is not old — and just that fact neutralizes what has been one of the most potent Trump lines of attack. Polls have consistently shown that voters have not been overly concerned with the 78-year-old Donald Trump’s age. But simply taking the issue off the table may be enough of a victory for Democrats. They were facing the stiff headwinds of three-quarters of Americans thinking Mr. Biden was too old — a view shared widely even before his doddering debate. (Goldmacher, 7/22)