Democratic candidates go after Elizabeth Warren over how much her Medicare for All plan will cost at Ohio debate

AP Photo/John Minchillo

• Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar attacked Sen. Elizabeth Warren over her support for Medicare for All.
• It was the first sparring match of the night, opening up one of the most significant policy arguments in the Democratic Party during the fourth presidential debate on Wednesday night.
• Buttigieg framed Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer plan as "Medicare for all, whether you want it or not."
• Warren, in response, said Buttigieg's plan for a public option would amount to "Medicare for all who can afford it." 
• The debate, hosted by CNN and The New York Times in Columbus, Ohio, featured a whopping 12 candidates. 
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Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar went after Sen. Elizabeth Warren over her support for Medicare for All, opening up one of the most significant policy arguments in the Democratic Party during the fourth presidential debate on Wednesday night.

Buttigieg kicked off the spirited discussion by accusing Warren of not releasing details on how she'd play for a single-payer health program, which would cost the federal government tens of trillions of dollars. 

"Your signature is to have a plan for everything, except this," Buttigieg said. "No plan has been laid out to explain how a multi-trillion dollar hole in this plan that senator Warren is putting forward is supposed to get filled in." 

Warren said that she would raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations in order to pay for her plan, but insisted that "costs" for middle class families would go down. 

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"We can pay for this," Warren said. "Costs will go up for wealthy, for big corporations. They will not go up for middle class families. I will not sign a bill into law that raises their costs. Because costs are what people care about." 

While Buttigieg framed Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer plan as "Medicare for all, whether you want it or not," Warren said Buttigieg's plan for a public option would amount to "Medicare for all who can afford it." 

Klobuchar soon jumped into the debate, accusing Warren of not being transparent with Americans about the costs of her plan.

"I think we owe it to the American people to tell them where we're going to send the invoice," Klobuchar said. 

Sanders also jumped into the discussion, defending his bill. 

"The issue is whether the Democratic Party has the guts to stand up to the healthcare industry ... the price-fixing pharmaceutical industry," Sanders said. 

The debate, hosted by CNN and The New York Times in Columbus, Ohio, featured a whopping 12 candidates.