What began as a redundant debate over health care escalated quickly Thursday night when Julián Castro signaled that former Vice President Joe Biden was losing his memory.
“Are you forgetting already…?”: Castro ribs Biden over health care
Biden contradicted what his proposal would do. Then Castro went on the attack.
Castro said Biden contradicted what his proposal would do, when Biden said Americans would be automatically enrolled in a public plan if they lost their private health insurance. Biden’s plan offers a buy-in option, and would automatically enroll Americans under 138 percent of the poverty line.
Castro quickly followed up with a stinging attack: “Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?”, making the case that Biden’s health care plan is not universal. “Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago? I can’t believe that you said two minutes ago that they had to buy in and now you’re saying they don’t have to buy in. You’re forgetting that.”
It all started on familiar territory. Thursday began like the last two debates — with an extended debate on health care. Should the country move toward a Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system, as advocated for by candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, or focus on more incremental changes to the Affordable Care Act, as Biden is advocating for?
But it ended in a jab into what has been a growing narrative around Biden’s gaffes and slip ups on the campaign trail.
Castro called out Biden for changing his plan on the debate stage
Castro jumped into the opening conversation about health care to point out that Biden’s plan doesn’t cover everyone. Biden’s plan is explicit about this: “He’ll also build on the Affordable Care Act with a plan to insure more than an estimated 97% of Americans,” the plan says. Three percent of the American population is roughly 10 million people.
“I know that the problem with your plan is that it leaves 10 million people uncovered,” Castro said of Biden’s plan. “Now, on the last debate stage in Detroit, you said that wasn’t true and Senator Harris brought that up. There was a fact check of that, they said that was true.”
Castro continued:
“The differences between what I support and what you support, Vice President Biden, is that you require them to opt in and I would not require them to opt in, they would automatically be enrolled. That’s a big difference, because Barack Obama’s vision was not to leave 10 million people uncovered. He wanted every single person in this country covered. My plan would do that. Your plan would not.”
Biden immediately jumped at Castro’s comment.
“They do not have to buy in,” he said. “You are automatically enrolled.”
That’s when the fight escalated. Here’s the whole exchange:
Castro: You just said that two minutes ago. You just two minutes ago they would have to buy in. Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago? I can’t believe that you said two minutes ago that they had to buy in and now you’re saying they don’t have to buy in. You’re forgetting that.
Biden: I said anyone like your grandmother who has no money.
Castro: We need a health care system.
Biden: You are automatically enrolled.
Castro: Automatically enrolls people regardless if they choose to opt in or not. If you lose your job, for instance, his health care plan would not automatically enroll you. You would have to opt in. My health care plan would. That is a big difference. I’m fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama and you’re not.
Biden: That will be a surprise to him.
It’s true that Biden did say that his plan allows people who lose their employer-based insurance to have the option to buy-in to the public plan.
“The option I’m proposing is, Medicare for Choice,” Biden said on the debate stage just minutes before Castro jumped in. “If you want Medicare, if you lose the job from your insurance company, from your employer, you automatically can buy into this. You don’t have no pre-existing condition can stop you from buying in. You get covered. Period.”
That’s what his plan says too. ”The Biden Plan will give you the choice to purchase a public health insurance option like Medicare,” the plan says. His proposal would still significantly push the current health care system to the left by establishing a public option and aggressively tackling drug prices. Biden’s plan said this public option will reduce costs by “negotiating lower prices from hospitals and other health care providers” — essentially using the same bargaining power that Medicare currently has. But it is not universal.
But Biden also said that “anyone who can’t afford it gets automatically enrolled in the Medicare-type option we have,” as his plan proposes.
Castro, meanwhile has supported Medicare-for-all, which would move everyone on to a single government-run program, essentially eliminating private insurance and guaranteeing all Americans health insurance. Though, Castro supports carving out some role from private insurance. His plan allows for certain supplementary private insurance or for people to opt-out of Medicare if they have a “high-standard” and regulated private insurance plan through work.
Biden’s comments — that people are automatically enrolled — is only true for people below 138 percent of the poverty level. But nevertheless, Castro took it one step further, surfacing what has been a growing narrative around Biden’s age.
Biden’s has had to answer for his age
On the campaign trail Biden, who is 76, has repeatedly talked himself into news cycles about his gaffes and slip ups. Biden’s campaign chalks it up to a press hungry for a juicy headline. Biden himself has attributed the coverage of his gaffes to his frontrunner status; he has held a comfortable lead in early polls ever since jumping into the race, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
That said, his campaign has acknowledged the narrative; the campaign tweeted a video in which an Iowa voter told Biden that his “fiery” speech quelled any initial concerns she had about his age.
“I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts,” he told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not sure whether it was the medical school or where the hell I spoke. But it was on the campus.”
On some level, this is nothing new for Biden, who has a history of slipping up and saying things that are slightly off or need clarification. Biden’s competitors in the Democratic primary have used those remarks against him, like when Harris attacked Biden’s comments about working with Southern segregationist Democrats on busing policies in the 1970s.
Castro made the attack more explicit, asking the former vice president directly if he was “forgetting” his own words. The nature of that line was acknowledged on the stage.
“This is why presidential debates are becoming unwatchable,” South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said. “This reminds everybody of what they cannot stand about Washington. Scores points against each other. Poking at each other.”
Castro had a response for Buttigieg too.
“That’s called the Democratic primary election, Pete. That’s called an election. That’s an election. You know? This is what we’re here for. It’s an election.”
Update: We have added additional comments Biden made during the debate as well as some context on Biden’s health care plan.
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By Tara Golshan and Dylan Scott
