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Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Thursday unveiled his plan to reform the U.S. healthcare system by offering everyone coverage under the federal Medicare program, but not forcing people to give up private health insurance plans. (9/19)

Buttigieg is accusing his 2020 rival Elizabeth Warren of being "extremely evasive" when it comes to explaining how she'd finance a universal health care plan. Speaking on CNN on Thursday, Buttigieg issued his most pointed attack yet on the Massachusetts senator, saying she "was extremely evasive when asked that question, and we've seen that repeatedly." (9/19)

"I think that if you are proud of your plan and it's the right plan, you should defend it in straightforward terms," Buttigieg said. "And I think it's puzzling that when everybody knows the answer to that question of whether her plan and Senator Sanders's plan will raise middle class taxes is 'yes.' Why you wouldn't just say so, and then explain why you think that's the better way forward?" (Hellmann, 9/19)

Buttigieg's proposal -- unlike Sanders' plan -- would not force people onto government health coverage but instead would offer a public option for people who choose to enroll. Buttigieg has argued this would force private insurers to compete with the government-backed plan on price. Warren, on the other hand, is running on a bill that she first signed on to in 2017: Sanders' "Medicare for All" single-payer legislation. "I'm with Bernie," Warren has said more than once in recent months when asked about her vision for the American health care system. (Ehrlich, 9/19)

In the editorial, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., wrote that his plan would allow the country to achieve “universal health care and a public alternative without raising taxes on the middle class.” Buttigieg goes on to say in the op-ed: “Anyone who lets the words Medicare for All escape their lips should tell us just as plainly how they plan to get there.” (Oprysko, 9/19)

The plan showcases Buttigieg's pitch to voters as a candidate willing to take a measured position that speaks to the needs of a Democratic electorate that may be wary of the upending of the U.S. health care system that the progressives in the race argue the country needs. The plan, which the campaign says would cost $1.5 trillion over a decade, is aiming for universal coverage by providing insurance in a variety of ways, depending on an individual's insured status and income. (Turman, 9/19)

“For years, Washington politicians have allowed the pharmaceutical industry, giant insurance companies, and powerful hospital systems to profit off of people when they are at their sickest and most vulnerable,” Buttigieg said in a statement. "My ‘Medicare for All Who Want It’ plan will create a health care system that puts power in the hands of each American.” (Rodrigo, 9/19)

Presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke on Thursday unveiled a plan to legalize marijuana and end the war on drugs. The former Texas congressman would grant clemency to those currently serving sentences for marijuana possession, establish a model for marijuana legalization and give grants to those affected by the war on drugs to help them benefit from the new industry. (Rodrigo, 9/19)