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The math is simple: Voters 50 and older are expected to make up more than half of Iowa caucus-goers in 2020, and more than three-quarters of the Democratic field is on hand to court them in the first state on the nomination calendar. AARP, the largest advocacy group in the U.S. for people 50 and older, is flexing its muscles by bringing 19 of the Democratic candidates in front of its members for five different forums this week across the Hawkeye State. Several of the candidates are also pushing out policy proposals on health care, drug prices, Medicare and other issues of special importance to older voters, timed to coincide with the gatherings. (McCormick, 7/16)

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said she envisions a "Medicare for All" health care system that does not include private insurance. "There will eventually not be a need for private insurance because there will be full coverage, in terms of most of the services that folks need, in terms of access to health care," Harris said at a forum in Bettendorf on Tuesday sponsored by AARP and the Des Moines Register. The forum, aimed at highlighting the issues facing aging Americans, included appearances by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro. (Rodriguez, 7/16)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday sought to build on his appeal to rural voters with the release of a broad plan to revitalize rural America through investments in agriculture, rural economies and infrastructure. ... It also includes a $20 billion investment in rural broadband infrastructure, a commitment to prioritize the poorest rural counties for federal investments and a promise to create a federal working group to help rural communities figure out how to apply for federal funds and resources. And it features a raft of policies aimed at bolstering rural health care access, including doubling the funding for community health centers and expanding the use of telehealth services and rural medical residency programs. (7/16)

The rural plan isn't only about agriculture and energy. It additionally addresses issues rural communities face with infrastructure and health care, like access to hospitals. Traveling in Iowa on Tuesday, Biden said: “You want to know why I’m such a strong friend of Obamacare? Because we were able to keep a lot of those hospitals open." He also expanded on his critique of the "Medicare for All" health care plan that several of his Democratic rivals support. (Gruber-Miller and Opsahl, 7/16)

Biden, the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic race for president, discussed rural health care issues at a Le Mars hospital. He started the afternoon by taking a private tour of Floyd Valley Healthcare and then held a roundtable with seven local health care officials, which was observed by 35 local residents and members of the press. "I know there is still a crisis in rural hospitals," Biden said, beginning his remarks for the 35-minute forum. (Hayworth, 7/16)

Bernie Sanders, the self-described political revolutionary who has struggled to expand his support base in a crowded Democratic presidential field, offered his most comprehensive critique yet of rival Joe Biden on Tuesday — a reflection of the candidates’ increasing eagerness to challenge the primacy of the former vice president. The senator from Vermont, in an interview with The Washington Post, criticized Biden on his health-care plan, his foreign policy record and his ability to win crucial voters in the Upper Midwest states that were carried in 2016 by President Trump, calling Biden an enabler of the “deregulation of Wall Street” that led to “incredible pain” for many Americans. (Sullivan and Costa, 7/16)

At the first Democratic presidential debates last month, the threat to private health insurance was stark, with multiple leading  candidates indicating they would eliminate it entirely in their quest to provide universal health care. It’s Matt Eyles’s job to make sure they don’t. As the head of the health insurance lobbying group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Eyles is helping lead the industry’s fight against “Medicare for All,” while pushing for more incremental changes, such as lowering prescription drug prices. (Sullivan, 7/16)