Focus On ACA Or Go All In For ‘Medicare For All’? Democrats Divided Over Path To Take On Health Care
For the first election in years, Democrats see health care as a winning issue -- one to go on the offense over instead of defending their votes. But they party's candidates lack coherency in their approach. Some push a "Medicare for All" plan while others think shoring up the health law should take priority. Meanwhile The Washington Post Fact Checker looks at ads targeting Democrats over "Medicare for All."
The Wall Street Journal:
Some Democrats Want Medicare For All. Others Aren’t So Sure
Shortly after her primary victory in New York, Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared her goal of giving Medicare to all Americans. Some fellow Democrats like Ken Harbaugh aren’t convinced. The Navy veteran, who is challenging Rep. Bob Gibbs (R., Ohio), says the party should focus on bolstering the Affordable Care Act, not starting from scratch with Medicare for All. “We need a much quicker fix, which is shoring up the ACA,” he said. (Armour, 10/4)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
GOP Ads Falsely Depict Democrats As Supporters Of Sanders’s Health Plan
With a sick child on the couch, holding a teddy bear, a mother calls to make a doctor’s appointment. She pulls out her health-insurance card and then with her voice breaking, says: “What do you mean you don’t take that anymore? But it’s through my work.” The ad, via the National Republican Campaign Committee, concludes by claiming that the Democratic candidate, Xochitl Torres Small, “takes from us to give it all to Washington.” (Kessler, 10/4)
Meanwhile, Republicans are struggling to get some voters to trust their promises to protect preexisting conditions coverage —
The Washington Post:
GOP Candidates Pay The Price For Attempts To Kill Obamacare And Its Guarantee Of Coverage For Preexisting Conditions
In February, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley joined a Republican lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and with it protections for Americans suffering from preexisting medical conditions that previously could be excluded from insurance coverage. Now, running to unseat Democrat Claire McCaskill in one of the nation’s most competitive U.S. Senate races, Hawley is airing a sympathetic ad using the affliction of his 5-year-old son, diagnosed this year with a rare bone disease. (Jan, 10/3)
The Hill:
GOP Lawmaker's Ad Pledges Support For Pre-Existing Condition Protections
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) on Wednesday released a reelection ad saying he wants to ensure protections for people with pre-existing conditions, making him the latest vulnerable Republican to highlight support for the ObamaCare provision. ...His campaign did not say how he is taking on the Republican party. A spokesman pointed to an op-ed from last year where Rohrabacher wrote that Medicare should bear all the costs of covering people with pre-existing conditions. (Weixel, 10/3)