Friday on “CBS This Morning,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said she misinterpreted a question at Thursday night’s 2020 Democratic debate, about abolishing private health insurance.
Harris raised her hand when NBC’s Lester Holt asked for a hand raise if their health care plans would “abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan?”
The California Senator was asked, “Another defining moment in the debate was when ever candidate was asked to raise their hand if they would abolish is private insurance. In that momentum you raised your hand. But afterwards you campaign says actually that’s not your position. So what’s your position on private insurance?”
Harris said, “So the question was would you be willing to give up your private insurance.”
Co-host Tony Dokoupil pressed, “That’s not what was asked. That’s what you heard.”
Harris continued, “That’s certainly what I heard. I’m in support of Medicare for all. And under Medicare for all, private care would exist as supplemental coverage. But we would extend benefits, vision care, dental, hearing aids, which is very expensive for those who have to pay out of pocket for them. I told the story last night, look, any night in America, there’s some person who has a child who has a fever and out of control going to the emergency room to get help in the middle of the nigh and then looking at those sliding glass doors as they’re in their parking lot concerned if they walk through the sliding glass doors, they’re going to be out of pocket $5,000 deductible. They’ve got insurance but they will be out of pocket $5000.”
Harris later told MSNBC that she does not support abolishing private insurance. “No, I do not.”
She added, “The question was would you give up your private insurance for that option and I said yes.”
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