Julián Castro became the latest Democrat to offer support for a single-payer health care system on Monday, saying he believed the nation needed universal health care.
“There is no reason, as many folks have pointed out, that in the richest nation on earth, anybody should go without health care,” the former Housing and Urban Development secretary said, according to CNN. “I believe that we need universal health care, that we should do … Medicare for all in this country.”
Castro made the remarks during an event with Iowa Democrats at which he said the U.S. should “be the healthiest nation.”
{mosads}The former Obama administration official last month became the first Democrat to announce that he had set up an exploratory committee to run for president.
The Medicare for All proposal touted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has become increasingly popular on the left, and a number of Democrats considering White House runs have embraced it.
Castro during the event championed the progressive health care platform and touted his work with affordable housing, The Associated Press reported.
“What you’re going to hear from me is that I’m not taking that PAC money, that I support universal health care, and that I’ve shown in my time in public service an ability to stand with the people instead of the special interests, and I’ve taken action to do that,” Castro said, according to the AP.
Multiple possible presidential contenders have visited Iowa recently, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Warren shortly after Castro announced that she would be launching an exploratory committee, making her the first major Democratic name to jump into the fray.
Castro at the event said that his platform will promote a vision for making the U.S. “the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation in the world,” according to the AP.