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In warm-up remarks introducing Senator Elizabeth Warren at campaign rallies, young volunteers often say they are supporting her because of her plan to transform the health care system through a single-payer “Medicare for all” program. It happened in Des Moines on Saturday and Oklahoma City last week, and in western Iowa cities like Clarinda and Council Bluffs on Sunday. But Ms. Warren herself is barely speaking of the proposal. After months of attacks from other candidates, and questions and some blowback from both liberals and moderates, the most ambitious and expensive of Ms. Warren’s many plans — and the one most likely to transform the lives of voters — is just a passing mention in her standard stump speech, rarely explored in depth unless a questioner brings it up. (Herndon, 1/1)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that one of the “major differences” between himself and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is in how quickly they would roll out "Medicare for All," drawing a contrast on the key campaign issue. Sanders and Warren are vying for the progressive mantle in the Democratic presidential primary, but they have largely shied away from criticizing each other. Sanders, however, did point to some daylight on his signature issue of Medicare for All when asked on Tuesday by NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard how he would contrast himself with Warren. (Sullivan, 12/31)

Bernie Sanders suffered “modest heart muscle damage" during his recent heart attack but has since recovered well and is fit enough for the rigors of the presidential campaign and the White House should he win it, according to letters released Monday by his primary care physician and two cardiologists. (12/30)

An examination in December found that Mr. Sanders “was able to exercise to a level that is approximately 50% higher than other men his age with a similar diagnosis,” Philip Ades, director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont, and Patrick Savage, a senior clinical exercise physiologist, said in a letter released by the campaign. (Collins, 12/30)

The senator has made an “uneventful recovery” from his heart attack, LeWinter said, adding that Sanders has been taking several medications routinely prescribed after heart attacks. “While he did suffer modest heart muscle damage, he has been doing very well since,” LeWinter wrote. (Sullivan, 12/30)

Mr. Sanders’s health has been under scrutiny since early October, when he experienced chest pains during a campaign event in Las Vegas. He then had two stents inserted into an artery. His campaign did not reveal that he had suffered a heart attack until after he was released from the hospital three days after being admitted. (Ember, 12/30)

Is Bernie Sanders drinking from the fountain of youth? If his medical records, released to the public Dec. 30, are any indication, he has a secret or two. At age 78 and on the home stretch of his second presidential primary campaign, the Vermont senator shows no signs of slowing down. His wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, says it all boils down to prioritizing healthy habits, both on the road and at home. For the presidential hopeful, that means baseball — and lots of fruit. (Fornarola, 12/31)

At the most recent Democratic presidential debate, candidates largely avoided discussing the lawsuit or Republicans’ years-long efforts to dismantle Obamacare, and instead continued their intra-party battle over Medicare for All. But Senate Democrats, Democratic candidates and outside groups backing them immediately jumped on the news of the federal appeals court ruling — blasting out ads and statements reminding voters of Republicans’ votes to repeal the 2010 health care law, support the lawsuit and confirm the judges who may bring about Obamacare’s demise. (Ollstein and Arkin, 12/26)

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday unveiled his plan to fight maternal mortality and reduce racial disparities in pregnancy-related deaths. Bloomberg, like other Democratic presidential candidates, pointed to data showing black women are three to four times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women are. (Sullivan, 12/30) 

A top mental health and addiction treatment advocate here wants behavioral health on the ballot in 2020. It’s a winning issue, according to Chuck Ingoglia, the president and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, a D.C. nonprofit that represents thousands of community mental health providers. According to a presidential primary poll the organization released last month, large majorities of New Hampshire voters believe the federal government isn’t doing enough to address the nation’s addiction and mental health challenges. (Facher, 12/2)