"We have problems we have to solve now. What's the revolution going to do? Disrupt everything," former Vice President Joe Biden said when asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All health care plan during the 11th Democratic debate on Sunday.
What they're saying: Biden said Sanders has not explained how he plans to pass and pay for his Medicare for All plan
"The senator talks about his Medicare for All, but he still hasn't told you how he's ever going to get it passed. He hasn't told you how, in fact, there's any possibility of that happening. He hasn't told you how much it's going to cost. He hasn't told you how it's going to apply. He hasn't told you that it doesn't kick in for four years even after it passes. If we want a revolution, let's act now."— Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Biden said he could pass his health care plan, which is an extension of the Affordable Care Act, "today."
- "It will be a fundamental change, and it happens now," Biden said. "What people want is hope, and they need it now. Not four years from now."
Sanders, in response, questioned why U.S. workers have not seen significant increases in wages despite gains in productivity and why the U.S., the richest country in the world by GDP, does not provide health care for all people.
- "Why do we give tax breaks to millionaires when a half a million people are homeless today?" Sanders asked. "It comes down to something we don't talk about: the power structure in America. Who has the power? I'll tell you who has the power. The millionaires who contribute money to political campaigns, who control the legislative agenda. Those people have the power."
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