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Health care divides candidates

By Casey Junkins - City Editor | Jul 16, 2019

Supporters applaud as Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., gestures while speaking at a house party in Gilford, N.H., Sunday, July 14, 2019. (AP Photo/ Cheryl Senter)

NASHUA — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday released a health care plan reinforcing his support for Obamacare and a public option, drawing contrasts with several of his 2020 Democratic primary rivals who are pushing more ambitious “Medicare for All” proposals.

Meanwhile, however, Biden’s once double-digit lead in the polls for New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary has dissipated. Data released Monday by Saint Anselm College show Biden leading his closest competitor by just 3.3 points.

By comparison, a June CBS News poll showed Biden ahead by 13 points in New Hampshire, while a survey taken by Monmouth University in May showed him up by 18 points in the Granite State.

The projected New Hampshire primary date is Feb. 11, although Secretary of State Bill Gardner said he will not officially confirm the day until later this year.

“In the Saint Anselm College Survey Center’s first look at the New Hampshire Democratic primary field since the first series of debates, Joe Biden continues to hold a lead in the ballot test, with 21% of primary voters expressing a preference for the former vice president,” said Neil Levesque, who serves as executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at the college.

“However, his lead has narrowed considerably since our last poll in April, as Senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have seen a significant post-debate bump, claiming 18% and 17% voter support, respectively,” Levesque continued. “Mayor Pete Buttigieg has maintained his support at 12%, while Senator Bernie Sanders has fallen below 10%.”

“Senator Cory Booker and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke have both seen their support virtually disappear.”

Differences On Health Care

“I knew the Republicans would do everything in their power to repeal Obamacare — they still are. But, I am surprised that so many Democrats are running on getting rid of it,” Biden stated in a Monday video message on his campaign website.

Biden maintains that Democrats promoting Medicare for All will make government-run health care mandatory. He said this is the wrong approach.

“I understand the appeal of Medicare for All, but folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of Obamacare — and I’m not for that,” Biden said.

As for Biden’s chief primary rivals, Harris, Warren and Sanders have each said they support the more aggressive and expensive Medicare for All plan.

On his website, Sanders vows to provide “health care to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare for All, single-payer program.”

“She believes we must guarantee Medicare for All,” Harris’ website states.

Some of the other contenders are not quite as clear in their standing. For example, Buttigieg’s web page declares, “Pete supports achieving Medicare for All through a pathway that helps improve people’s lives along the way while allowing the economy to adjust. He calls this ‘Medicare for All Who Want It.'”

Biden insists that anyone who wants to buy Medicare will be able to do so under his plan, but those who prefer their current private or employer-based insurance will be able to keep it.

Another highlight of the plan Biden released Monday calls for ending the tax break pharmaceutical companies can claim for spending on advertising.

Biden said he will be able to fund his plan by:

• Repealing President Donald Trump’s income tax cuts for the wealthy; and

• Doubling the capital gains tax rate on the “super wealthy.” Capital gains are, basically, the profits one sees for selling assets, such as stocks. The current rate of taxation on capital gains is 20%.

Biden added in his defense of Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), “Starting over makes no sense to me at all.”

New Hampshire Poll

Though Biden still leads both in New Hampshire and nationally, the Monday Saint Anselm College poll shows his lead eroding in the Granite State.

Information provided by Levesque states the college polled 351 random New Hampshire voters from Wednesday through Friday.

“It is still very early in the process,” Levesque said. “However, there are some trends emerging as voters sort through a couple dozen options. Joe Biden is a familiar, well-liked and well-respected figure in the Democratic Party, but between them, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren demonstrate a significant appetite among younger, more liberal voters for a progressive standard-bearer to send against President Donald Trump.”

In all, Biden received the support of 20.8% of poll respondents. That is down from his 22.9% showing in the last Saint Anselm poll released in April.

The major shift in the poll shows that Harris is now second to Biden in the Granite State at 17.5%. This is more than double the number who chose Harris in the April survey.

Warren is now in third place at 16.7%. This is up from 8.7% three months ago.

“The sources of Biden’s support suggest that his narrow advantage may be precarious, as it comes from older and more conservative voters, while Warren leads among the more energized ‘very liberal’ voters,” Levesque said.

The poll shows Buttigieg in fourth place at 11.5%, reflecting a slight increase from April.

Sanders, the 2016 winner of the New Hampshire primary, is seeing his support evaporate — at least according to the poll. The survey shows 9.9% of respondents chose Sanders, down from 15.6% in April.

After Sanders, sixth place currently goes to New York entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Best-known for his plan of giving every person $1,000 per month, no questions asked, Yang registers 4.9% in the New Hampshire poll.

The only other candidate to register at least 2% is U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who received 2.7% support.

“It is also becoming increasingly difficult for lower-tier candidates to get the attention they need to gather support, as even formerly solid contenders have seen their support dissipate and gather behind the emerging top tier of candidates,” Levesque added.

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