Elizabeth Warren: Medicare for All Is the ‘Gold Standard’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Tuesday refused to say if she would raise taxes on middle-class Americans in order to pay for Medicare for All — which she called the “gold standard” — telling the audience that “costs” will go down for middle-class Americans.

Moderators at the fourth Democrat debate asked the Massachusetts senator if she would raise taxes on the middle class to fund Medicare for All — which she called the “gold standard” — and she once again refused to answer the question directly.

Instead, Warren went to her go-to talking point, arguing that overcall costs will go up for the “wealthy and big corporations” and go down for middle-class families.

Warren boasted of the families she has talked to around the country — individuals who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and cancer — and said they had great health insurance “right at the beginning.”

“But then they found out when they really needed it when the costs went up, the insurance company pulled the rug right from underneath them and they were left with nothing,” she said.

The moderator reminded Warren that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who also supports Medicare for All, admitted that taxes will go up for middle-class Americans in order to pay for the program.

Warren would not explicitly say if she would raise taxes and said once again, “Costs will go up for the wealthy and for corporations, and for the middle-class families, they will go down.”

“I will not sign a bill into law that does not lower costs for middle-class families,” she added.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) called out Warren’s ambiguous answer.

“Well, you heard it tonight. A yes or no question that didn’t get a yes or no answer,” he said.