Biden pitches 'BidenCare' as he spars with Trump on health care at debate

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Biden plans to build on ObamaCare with new public option, 'BidenCare'

Former vice president discusses his healthcare plan during the final debate of 2020.

President Trump and 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden sparred over their respective health care plans during Thursday night's debate.

Biden pitched an updated version of former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as ObamaCare, and he called it BidenCare.

"What I'm going to do is pass ObamaCare with a public option — become BidenCare," the Democratic nominee said.

First lady Melania Trump, President Trump and 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Biden then broke the plan into four parts. He said he wants to automatically enroll qualifying people for Medicaid even if expanded Medicaid coverage has not been offered in their state, which he said would bring competition for insurance companies.

He also said he supports allowing Americans to "keep their private insurance," reducing drug prices and creating a "preexisting-condition plan."

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"There is no way he can protect preexisting conditions. None. Zero. You can’t do it in the ether," Biden said of Trump. "He has been talk[ing] about this for a long time. There is no — he never came up with a plan. I guess we’ll get preexisting condition plan."

He then took a shot at Trump's handling of the coronavirus, saying "10 million people lost therapist insurance," and Trump "wants to take away 11 million more people who have it under ObamaCare and over 110 million people with preexisting conditions" if he repeals the ACA.

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Trump campaigned largely on repealing and replacing ObamaCare in 2016. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case regarding the Obama-era health care plan in the first week of November, after the election.

The president said during the debate that he wants to create a health care plan that would protect those with preexisting conditions and plans to keep private insurance, though he has yet to release his long-promised plan.

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"We have 180 million people out there that have great, private health care -- far more than we're talking about with ObamaCare," Trump said of Americans who receive insurance through their employers. "Joe Biden is going to terminate all of those policies. These are people that love their health care, people that have been successful — middle-income people. ... They have 180 million plans. 180 million people — families."

Trump added Biden's plan will "basically be socialized medicine" and people will lose their private insurance despite Biden's stance that he supports private insurance. 

Biden has previously indicated he would veto a more progressive "Medicare-for-all" proposal, which is supported by the left wing of the Democratic Party, though filmmaker Michael Moore and others believe Biden could be pressured liberal legislation like "Medicare-for-all."