On The Election Eve, Concern About Protections For Preexisting Conditions Remains A Hot Topic On The Campaign Trail
Democrats are hammering congressional Republicans who supported upending the Affordable Care Act, which guaranteed that people with medical problems could get coverage. GOP candidates and President Donald Trump vow that they would not take that away from patients, but they have not offered any plan.
The Washington Post:
In Final Pitch To Suburban Voters, It’s GOP Talk On Economy Vs. Democrats On Health Care
Republicans are entering the final days of the campaign with a message they hope will win over wavering suburban voters — the economy is booming, don’t let Democrats ruin it — while echoing President Trump in stoking fears about undocumented immigrants to try to rile the GOP base. Democrats are focused on female and independent voters angry with Trump, minorities and young people, hoping that coalition will turn out for the midterms and propel them to victory. The party has been especially focused on health care, warning that Republicans threaten a core provision of the Affordable Care Act — the protection for Americans with preexisting medical conditions. (DeBonis, 11/4)
The Washington Post:
Midterm Elections: Mapping Out What Issues Americans Care About
We’re left wondering what issues have an enduring impact. Health care does, it turns out. We’ll get to other issues in a moment, but after Google provided us with search data for more than a hundred politics-related issues, there was one obvious pattern. In almost every county in almost every month for the past year, health care topped the charts. Medicare and Medicaid were perennially popular, as was mental health. (Van Dam, 11/3)
Politico:
Would Republicans Take Another Shot At Obamacare?
Republicans who just endured months of withering attacks over health care will face an immediate high-stakes decision if, against all odds, they keep control of the House and Senate: whether to mount one more bid to kill Obamacare that's almost certain to fail. The GOP believes it can't just walk away from an eight-year pledge to repeal the law, a promise the party's base still wants Republicans to keep despite Obamacare's relative new popularity. If an election-night shocker keeps Republicans in power — rebuking the conventional wisdom that voters will punish them for their Obamacare attacks — they might be emboldened to mount another repeal push without risking reprisals at the polls next time around. (Cancryn, 11/5)
The Hill:
Republicans Put In Bind Over Preexisting Conditions
New actions from the Trump administration are complicating efforts of vulnerable Republicans to show their support for pre-existing condition protections heading into Tuesday's midterm elections. The Trump administration moved last week to allow states to waive certain ObamaCare requirements and pursue conservative health policies that were previously not allowed under the Obama administration. (Weixel, 11/3)
The Associated Press:
AP Fact Check: Trump's Fabrications On Medicare, Immigrants
In the final days before pivotal midterm elections, President Donald Trump is painting a distorted picture of immigration while exaggerating his record of achieving economic gains for non-whites and improving health care for veterans. ... Meanwhile, on health care, Trump falsely suggests that Democrats would seek to destroy Medicare if they take control of Congress and overstates improvements he made to the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Woodward and Yen, 11/5)