Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., takes questions from area voters at jajaBelle’s Pastry and Coffee Shop in Nashua Saturday morning.

NASHUA – After meeting with local residents Saturday morning at jajaBelle’s Pastry and Coffee Shop, U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., discussed her support for a universal health care plan.

“No matter where I go, red places, blue places, purple places, the No. 1 issue for Americans is basic access. They just want to make sure they have health care. They want quality, affordable health care, because they are worried about surviving,” she said.

“The quickest way to affordable, universal coverage is letting people buy into Medicare,” Gillibrand added. “It’s how you get to single-payer.”

Gillibrand’s position on health care seems broadly aligned with those taken by fellow Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey, as well as potential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

“The goals aren’t aligned,” Gillibrand said of insurance companies and patients. “They don’t want that second day in the hospital for you, because it’s going to cost them money and they’ll have less profits.”

Gillibrand also addressed a question about a somewhat controversial post she made on Twitter in December. The tweet stated:

“Our future is female, intersectional, powered by our belief in one another. And we’re just getting started.”

The Telegraph asked Gillibrand to provide some explanation of this comment.

“It’s important to make sure we have diversity, to allow women to be part of the decision making of this country,” she said Saturday. “Let’s make sure that we have 51 percent of women in Congress and leadership, someday.”