Yang spars with Jon Karl over whether his health care plan includes ‘Medicare for All’

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang sparred with ABC’s Jon Karl on Sunday over whether his health care plan includes “Medicare for All.”

Karl challenged the entrepreneur on “This Week,” saying Yang’s plan does not include Medicare for All or a public option despite an ad from the candidate saying “explicitly” that his ideas would promote “a health care system with Medicare for All.” 

{mosads}Yang replied that the country needs to reach for universal health care but should not remove the private plans that millions of Americans rely on. 

“Our plan is to expand a universal health care system to all Americans,” he told Karl. “Medicare for All is not the name of a bill. Medicare for All is universal health care for all Americans. And that is our vision.”

Yang added his plan would be based on Medicare and extend its reach by lowering the eligibility age, to which Karl replied he did not see that in the presidential candidate’s plan.

.@jonkarl: “Your ad says ‘Medicare for all.’ Your plan is not ‘Medicare for all’ … there’s not even a public option.”

“Our plan is to expand a universal health care system to all Americans,” Andrew Yang says, adding it will happen “over time.” https://t.co/3nk9sUAMZ9 pic.twitter.com/RwEi1l23Rc

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 29, 2019

The Democratic candidate has previously said he supports an extension of the Affordable Care Act to more individuals and has focused on health care in his ads.

The entrepreneur has said his plan supports the “spirit of Medicare for All,” although it does not contain a public option.