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Minutes after he received enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination, former Vice President Joe Biden discussed one of the top policy proposals: a revamp of the nation’s healthcare. In a town hall-style video chat with Americans who have dealt with serious health ailments, Biden vowed to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, which he and President Barack Obama helped pass in 2010. (Pereira, 8/18)

[Dr. Jill] Biden said in the night’s final speech that profound moments of grief in her husband’s life—a 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and a daughter and the 2015 death of his son Beau from cancer—had made him an empathetic leader fit to lead the nation through the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 171,000 Americans.“How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding—and with small acts of kindness. With bravery. With unwavering faith,” Ms. Biden said, adding later: “I know if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours: bring us together and make us whole.” (Jamerson and Day, 8/19)

Former President Clinton ripped President Trump’s response to the coronavirus on Tuesday, accusing the president of dithering and spreading misinformation in the early days of the outbreak that he said resulted in the U.S. being hit harder by the pandemic. Speaking from his home in Chappaqua, N.Y., on the second night of the virtual Democratic National Convention, Clinton said that instead of turning the Oval Office into a “command center” to address the pandemic, Trump turned the White House into a “storm center” that created additional “chaos.” (Easley and Chalfant, 8/18)

Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: Democratic Convention, Night 1: Hitting Trump Team On Pandemic Preparedness

On the first night of the Democrats’ 2020 national convention, one thing was clear. This time would be different. No crowds, buttons, placards or party swag. The coronavirus pandemic was an ever-present theme. Still, there was a virtual National Anthem and everyday people offering their thoughts on the upcoming election and the state of the nation. A young woman whose father, a Donald Trump voter, died of COVID-19, was among them. A list of marquee speakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders and former first lady Michelle Obama spoke directly into the camera. (8/18)

Democrats won control of the House in 2018 by pounding the issue of health care, and there is no sign they plan to change course this year as they try to build that majority and capture the Senate and White House. The party adopted a platform Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention that lays out presidential nominee Joe Biden’s plan to allow people to enroll in government-run Medicare coverage at 60 years old, down from 65, while younger people could buy that coverage through a “Medicare-like public option.” (McIntire, 8/19)