Democrats' divide on Medicare for All

What they're saying:

• Sanders hasn't changed at all. He has tweaked the details of what his plan covers, but still makes the same forceful case for a national plan with no copays, deductibles, premiums or coverage limitations — paid for by tax increases.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren still backs Sanders' version of the national health plan, but has said she would pursue a public option first, then a full-scale single-payer program later.
• Pete Buttigieg has long supported a public option, not Medicare for All, though his criticism of single-payer has gotten more aggressive as he (and Warren) have climbed in the polls.
• Joe Biden also has a clear position on Medicare for All: He's against it. He, too, prefers a public option. "The party's not there. The party's not there at all," he told "Axios on HBO."

Why it matters: This is the defining debate of the Democratic primary — and it's a fight that Sanders and Biden, at least, are eager to have.

Yes, but: The powerful health care industry, particularly hospitals, opposes a public option almost as fiercely as it opposes single-payer, and would fight it just as hard in Congress, with just as much help from Republicans.

• Democrats are divided over what to fight for, but it would be a fight no matter what.

Go deeper:

• Special report: The coming health care collision
• Health care profits are soaring
• The urban-rural health care divide is growing