Kevin Hardy

kmhardy@dmreg.com

After prodding, Sen. Bernie Sanders acknowledged Monday night that his Medicare-for-all universal health care plan would require increased taxes, though he maintained most families would save thousands of dollars per year by ditching the costs of private insurance.

Sanders' plan calls for doing away with private health insurance, saving families from out-of-pocket premiums and deductibles. CNN anchor Chris Cuomo repeatedly pressed Sanders on the cost of that plan, saying it would require "one of the biggest tax hikes in history."

Sanders vehemently denied that, calling that argument "demagogic."

Pointing to Sanders' expansive plans for new federal programs, Cuomo asked Sanders whether he rejects Bill Clinton's profession that "the era of big government is over," which he said during his 1996 State of the Union address.

Sanders didn't take the bait.

"The era of protecting the middle class and working families is certainly something that I will make happen," he said.

QUOTE: "If you are paying now $10,000 a year to a private health insurance company and I say to you, hypothetically, you're going to pay $5,000 more in taxes —- or actually less than that — but you're not going to pay any more private health insurance, are you going to be complaining about the fact that I'm saving you $5,000 in your total bills?"

BEST MOMENT: Sanders got out of his seat at one point to pace around the stage when passionately responding to an ad from Hillary Clinton's campaign. That left Cuomo standing, too, as Sanders meandered around the set.

AUDIENCE REACTION: Sanders received applause throughout. The audience loudly laughed as he sprinkled in jokes, including his first line that he couldn't button his suit jacket because "I'm too fat." He also earned some laughs when he playfully snapped at Cuomo while responding to a woman's question on Planned Parenthood: "I’m trying to win her vote, leave me alone here."

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