Back to the Utah State Aggies Newsfeed

Rich Lowry: Kamala Harris and the implausibility of ‘Medicare-for-all’

Sen. Kamala Harris committed a most unusual gaffe at her CNN town hall the other night — not by misspeaking about one of her central policy proposals, but by describing it accurately.

Asked on Monday night if the "Medicare-for-all" plan that she's co-sponsoring with Sen. Bernie Sanders eliminates private health insurance, she said that it most certainly does. Citing insurance company paperwork and delays, she waved her hand: "Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on."

She met with approbation from the friendly audience in Des Moines, Iowa, but the reaction elsewhere was swift and negative.

"As the furor grew," CNN reported the next day, "a Harris adviser on Tuesday signaled that the candidate would also be open to the more moderate health reform plans, which would preserve the industry, being floated by other congressional Democrats.