Insurance and pharma companies escape candidates' wrath at third Democratic debate

Last night’s Democratic debate opened with a raucous sparring session on health care. But unlike the previous two debates, insurance and pharma companies escaped largely unscathed. Candidates spent more time bickering about their individual health care plans. During the previous debates, former Vice President Joe Biden promised to throw health insurance executives in jail —  the only true jab at that industry this time came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who said, “I’ve actually never met anybody who likes their health insurance company.”

No candidate broke new ground on drug pricing. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I- Vt.) reiterated his promise to cap copays at $200 a year, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) emphasized working with Sanders to introduce legislation to cut costs for 43 million seniors. “I figure that's a lot of seniors and they should be allowed to get a better price,” she said.