Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana said Wednesday he doesn’t support giving illegal immigrants health care, but said he would hope to address that issue as part of an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system.
Mr. Bullock missed the cut for the first Democratic presidential debate, where most of the 2020 candidates said they support the idea of providing health care to people who entered the country illegally.
“No, I would not be giving undocumented immigrants to this country health care right now,” Mr. Bullock said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Mr. Bullock announced his bid for president in mid-May and raised $2 million over the second quarter of the campaign, which stretched from April 1 to June 30.
The governor said he has qualified for the second 2020 debate later this month in Detroit and said he has plenty of time to make up ground on his rivals in the nomination race.
“We are 200 days away from anyone expressing a preference,” Mr. Bullock said.” “I am the only one that has won a Trump state, and we need to win back places that we lost.”
Mr. Bullock also said that he doesn’t support the “Medicare for All” push that has energized the left-wing of the Democratic Party.
“I just don’t think that is where most folks are,” he said. “Great respect for those people who are out there pushing it, but I don’t think that is how we actually build on making sure everybody has access to affordable health care.”
Mr. Bullock said he plans to reduce the cost of health care by adding a government-run public option to the existing system and negotiating drug prices.
He said he is concerned about the cost of Medicare for All, and transitioning 165 million people off of their private health insurance and into the program.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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