The second presidential debate brought plenty of fireworks, including a slew of healthcare talking points that drew reactions from think tanks, health policy experts, reporters and more.
Here's a sampling of their takes on the debate:
Dan Diamond, author of Politico Pulse, noted that even American Enterprise Institute, a right-of-center think tank, has criticized Donald Trump’s healthcare proposals.
FACT CHECK: The conservatives at AEI — AEI! — say that Trump's health plan doesn't add up. https://t.co/iB91wczal2 pic.twitter.com/SHE94bvxfc
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 10, 2016
Diamond added he’d have to re-watch the debate to see if he missed any key policy points.
Currently re-watching the debate to see the Obamacare questions again, in hopes Trump actually details his plan this time.
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 10, 2016
Atul Gawande, M.D., a surgeon, writer, and public health researcher, echoed Diamond’s take.
I am still trying to decipher what Trump proposed as a health policy and I have no idea what he was talking about.
— Atul Gawande (@Atul_Gawande) October 10, 2016
Scott Gottlieb, a physician and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, corrected Hillary Clinton on a possible equivocation when she described some of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
Clinton refers to large group market, touts mostly insurance reforms to individual market. Surely she knows distinction #PresidentialDebate
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) October 10, 2016
Related: Presidential debate: A look at Clinton, Trump health policy claims
Gottleib also seemed to side with Trump's claim that Clinton supports an eventual move to a single-payer system.
Here's how Clinton would get to a single payer system: https://t.co/EocfBwq2OR my op Ed from @WSJopinion #PresidentialDebate @AEI
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) October 10, 2016
Regarding Trump's proposal to sell health plans across state lines, Bob Kocher, former healthcare special adviser to President Barack Obama and current venture capitalist, wasn't buying it. Yale University health economist Zack Cooper agreed.
For the record, state boundaries have almost nothing to do with premiums. It is the hospital prices! #debate
— Bob Kocher (@bobkocher) October 10, 2016
100% correct, Bob. https://t.co/r1qyN8YhqC
— Zack Cooper (@zackcooperYale) October 10, 2016
Avalere Health’s Caroline Peterson and Alliance of Community Health Plans’ Ceci Connolly debunked Trump’s claims about how much insurance premiums are rising on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Not 20% or 30% https://t.co/67K46csazJ
— Ceci Connolly (@CeciConnolly) October 10, 2016
Proposed premium increases in 14 states show average rate increases of 11% among silver plans in 2017. https://t.co/A7bpkvOgGd
— Caroline Pearson (@CPearsonAvalere) October 10, 2016
When pressed on whether he would retain the individual mandate, Trump did not offer a clear response. This prompted an observation from The Wall Street Journal's Janet Adamy.
No insurer will agree to take sick customers if you don't force everybody to buy plans.
— Janet Adamy (@janetadamy) October 10, 2016
Sarah Kliff, senior editor at Vox, provided color on healthcare costs and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the federal budget.
You'd never know health care cost growth is at an all-time low. pic.twitter.com/GEsBWxpYJh
— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) October 10, 2016
Obamacare has cost significantly *less* than what original CBO estimates had. pic.twitter.com/SfsSjJhWUw
— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) October 10, 2016
Harold Pollack, a researcher at University of Chicago, basically agreed with Kliff.
Reminder: US health care costs have grown been at historically low levels since passage of ACA.
— Harold Pollack (@haroldpollack) October 10, 2016
Adrianna MacIntyre, managing editor at The Incidental Economist, had a bit harsher criticism.
We need a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump talking about health policy until we can figure out what is going on. https://t.co/eToLTHKneu
— Adrianna McIntyre (@onceuponA) October 10, 2016
Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, added that Trump’s talking point to sell health plans across state lines wouldn't benefit the system.
At the risk of getting wonky, insurers competing across state lines would lead to less regulation and fewer consumer protections.
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) October 10, 2016
Levitt noted, however, that premiums are up quite a bit in some marketplaces, but that on average they are much lower.
There are challenges with the ACA, but coverage has not gone down -- 20 million more people have coverage.
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) October 10, 2016