2019 Kamala Harris vows to get rid of private health care plans: 'Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on'
California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, speaking during a town hall Monday night, vowed to eliminate all private health care insurance for approximately 150 million Americans if she is elected president.
Asked by CNN host Jake Tapper if people who like their current health care insurance could keep it under Harris' "Medicare for All" plan, Harris indicated they could not. "Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on."
At the second Democratic presidential debate in Miami on June 27, 2019, NBC’s Lester Holt asked the group, “Who here would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan?” Sanders and Harris were the only Democrats to raise their hands; the other eight candidates did not.
Although she initially indicated during a 2019 presidential campaign debate that she would support eliminating private health insurance, Harris walked back her support and instead unveiled her own health care plan.
The plan also preserves a role for private insurance companies, allowing Americans the option to obtain private health insurance .