AP FACT CHECK: Claims from the Democratic Debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven Democratic presidential contenders staged their final debate before contests in South Carolina and Super Tuesday deliver more than one-third of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

A look at how their claims in Charleston on Tuesday night compare with the facts:

MIKE BLOOMBERG, responding to Elizabeth Warren’s demand that he lift non-disclosure agreements for all women who signed them: “We are doing that, senator.”

THE FACTS: He hasn’t done that.

Bloomberg agreed to release three women from non-disclosure agreements in situations where they specifically identified an issue with him. But many more former Bloomberg employees have signed such agreements, having to do with the culture and work environment at his company. He hasn’t freed them from their obligation to stay quiet about their complaints.

BERNIE SANDERS: “What every study out there says — conservative or progressive — ‘Medicare for All’ will save money.”

THE FACTS: Not every study says that.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, cites a recent medical journal article in The Lancet, which estimated “Medicare for All” would save more than $450 billion annually, or about 13%.

A Heated 2020 Debate ..The biggest losers ..The Moderators ..WTH is this …The Democratic Debate is a bunch of unsupervised preschoolers..The Moderators lost control..They have all become desperate ..WHAT A HOT MESS! pic.twitter.com/0MsKhsqGcf

— Ruthann (@TeaBoots) February 26, 2020

But other studies have found a Sanders-like single-payer plan would cost more, partly because free health care would increase the demand for services.

A study last fall from the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Institute estimated that such a plan would increase national health spending by about $720 billion.

A Rand study estimated spending would increase 1.8% under a national single-payer plan.

Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.

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