After months of equivocation on the topic of health care, Elizabeth Warren firmly supported Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill during the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. When the candidates were asked if they would support abolishing private insurance in favor of a single-payer program, Warren raised her hand before saying straightforwardly: “I’m with Bernie on Medicare for All.” Asked two days later if she stood by her answer, she didn’t budge: “Yes, I held my hand up. What part did you not see?”

It was a welcome development for single-payer advocates. As I wrote prior to the debate, Warren’s campaign has long been marred by her avoidance of discussing health care in a substantive way. While Warren was an original cosponsor of Sanders’s bill, she distanced herself from it in previous campaign appearances, often suggesting that there are “multiple pathways” to universal coverage.

Clearly, Warren’s campaign decided before the debate that it was time to take a stand on health care, which repeatedly polls as the most important issue to voters. By attaching herself more firmly to Sanders’s bill, Warren is committing to a single-payer program that guarantees comprehensive care to every American resident, free at the point of service. Her support has the potential to be a huge boost for the Medicare for All movement — but only if she embraces these specifics and defends them at every opportunity.