A voter’s guide to health care: Here’s where the 2020 Democrats stand

Welcome to the policy primary. The 23 Democratic candidates running to take on President Donald Trump in 2020 are creating the most robust policy discussion of any modern presidential race.

Because of that, we built our Issues Tracker: A searchable database of what the candidates think about 50 key issues (and counting) shaping the presidential race.

Of all the issues, Democratic voters think health care is the most important, according to a June POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Here’s where the candidates stand on key health care issues we’re tracking:

Issue No. 1: Should the government provide everyone with free health insurance?

The idea of shifting Americans into a single government-run health insurance plan with generous benefits has rocketed from the leftist fringes to the political mainstream in just a few years. It now has the support of nearly half the Democratic presidential field and has become a litmus test for many progressive voters.

Some candidates who have embraced ‘Medicare for All’ have also floated alternative, more limited plans. Candidates who oppose the program, as well as some who support it in theory, are uncomfortable with its large price tag or the idea of forcing hundreds of millions of people off their private insurance.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who popularized Medicare for All during his 2016 campaign, has taken an “all-or-nothing” stance — arguing that incremental proposals that would preserve a large role for private insurance are unacceptable. Sanders and other Medicare for All hard-liners say it’s the only way to address deeper problems in the health care system, from medical bankruptcies to high maternal mortality rates, especially among poor and minority women.

While other candidates have proposed plans requiring patients to shoulder some of the cost of their care, Sanders’ legislation would fully cover every service and procedure, including dental, vision, long-term care and abortion, at no charge to patients.

About half of the candidates in the large Democratic field have come out against Medicare for All. Their criticisms have focused on its potential cost (pegged at more than $30 trillion over a decade by outside groups) and the disruption to patients and the health care system resulting from forcing everyone into a single government-run plan.

Many of these candidates say they favor an alternative approach that lets people keep their private insurance while making a government plan available to anyone who prefers it. The competition from the cheaper public plan, they argue, would drive down insurance costs in the private market as well. Others argue for taking things slower and prioritizing solutions for those currently facing the highest health costs, including older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare and middle-income people just over the threshold for receiving Obamacare subsidies in the individual market.

Issue No. 2: Should the government limit access to abortion at all?

Abortion has been one of the most contentious issues in the U.S. since the Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Whoever wins the White House could significantly shape when and under what circumstances women can get the procedure.

Recognizing that abortion rights could be vulnerable because of the Supreme Court's ideological shift to the right under Trump, states are moving quickly. Some are passing laws aimed at provoking a legal challenge to Roe. Others are codifying protections so that abortion remains legal in these states even if Roe is overturned. As a result, Democrats are eager to show voters, particularly women voters, that they support Roe.

But while the Democrats are united on that principle, some candidates differ on how involved the government should be in setting limits.

Several Democrats — including multiple candidates who identify as Catholic — have not offered clear stances about whether the government should be allowed to set limits for when women can obtain an abortion, even as they say they support Roe.

For example, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper would only say: "I think that the Supreme Court has already drawn that line," when asked by NBC's Chuck Todd whether the government should set limits. John Delaney, who is Catholic, has also dodged when pressed about his views on abortions late in pregnancy.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren have so far offered the most detailed platforms on women's health, saying they would push Congress to repeal restrictions on when federal funds can pay for abortion, and prevent states from passing laws that restrict access.

However, some Democrats haven't always held this position. For example, Rep. Tim Ryan was anti-abortion until 2015.

Democrats in this category want certain limits regarding abortions later in pregnancy. That's in line with the Roe v. Wade decision, which says states can regulate abortions after viability but should allow them if the life or health of the woman is at risk.

During a Fox News town hall, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said "there are limits there in the third trimester that are very important — about — except for the health of the woman.” Marianne Williamson also suggested in a Washington Post story that a woman obtaining a later abortion for her health might be too expansive a definition. "Mental health can be so broadly defined," she said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's position on abortion has essentially spanned the entire spectrum. In the 1980s, Biden, a Catholic, supported a constitutional amendment that would have let states reverse Roe, and he was previously quoted saying the decision "went too far" (although he's since changed his position). While in the Senate, he voted to ban a certain late-term abortion procedure as recently as 2003. And a video from 2006 recently emerged in which he said: "I'm a little bit of an odd man out in my party." He has not directly disavowed casting those votes.

Head to our Issues Tracker to explore where the candidates stand on more than 50 other key issues shaping the 2020 presidential race.

Drug Prices | Climate Change | Marijuana | The Wall | Gun Control | Minimum Wage | Death Penalty | Social Media | Trade | Free College | Wealth Taxes | DACA | ... and More

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine