Democrat – JustCare

Poll: Health care costs are a top economic priority for voters

As you’ve likely been reading, voters continue to have negative views about the US economy. High health care costs (and inflation, which is actually in check) feed into that view, with voters saying they are big concerns. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest poll finds that voters want to hear President Biden and former President Trump discuss these issues.

Americans believe that their cost of living, including housing, is rising; health care costs also represent a piece of that expense. They do not seem to consider that unemployment is low and the stock market has been climbing. Almost three in four Americans are concerned about paying unexpected medical bills; more than half are worried that they won’t be able to afford their prescription drugs and nearly half express concern about paying their health insurance premiums.

What’s particularly noteworthy is that even though former President Trump would likely cut some of the benefits voters enjoy and President Biden has worked hard to boost them, nine in ten Republicans say they would vote for former President Trump. Curiously, Republican voters believe that former President Trump did more to address high health care costs than President Biden, although not enough. Nearly six in ten Republicans (59 percent) say Trump did enough to address health care costs, whereas only one third (33 percent) of Democrats say Biden has done enough.

Voters who say they support Trump recognize that he does not have a vision for replacing the Affordable Care Act, only for ending it. But, they don’t appreciate that President Biden was the Vice President when the ACA was passed and played a significant role in its passage.

The ACA is not well understood, likely because only a fraction of the population benefits from it today. Most people don’t appreciate the protections it offers people who lose their employer coverage or who are self-employed, particularly those who have pre-existing conditions, and why it needs to be strengthened. Many Republicans suggest they would be happy to see it cut or repealed.

Here’s more from Just Care:

March 6, 2024

Dems launch attack ads against Senators Cruz and Scott for proposing to take away Medicare

Axios reports that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has launched attack ads against Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rick Scott of Florida for planning to take away Medicare. Cruz and Scott are the two Republican Senators whose seats are at risk in the 2024 election. And, when it comes to Medicare and Social Security, they can’t be trusted.

Both Scott and Cruz have called for the end of Medicare in one form or another, as have most Republicans. For a long while, one of their goals has been to privatize Medicare and allocate a fixed amount of money to each person with Medicare that they can spend on their health care, “premium support”. Premium support policies would mean higher costs for older adults and less comprehensive Medicare coverage. People with Medicare who developed costly or complex conditions would likely either have to forgo care or pay for it themselves.

The Democrats’ digital ads are designed to appeal to older Americans and call out Senators Cruz and Scott for being a “threat to Medicare.” The ads also attack Republicans more broadly for their positions on Medicare.

Senator Scott has called for federal legislation that would have Medicare and Social Security go away after five years. In his words, “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress could pass it again.” Given how difficult it is to pass any legislation in Congress, Scott’s policy proposal is a sure recipe to end Medicare and Social Security.

It’s worth noting that Medicare Advantage plans already put Medicare on a dangerous trajectory, both from a sustainability perspective and from a coverage perspective. The HHS Office of the Inspector General has now twice reported that Medicare Advantage plans often inappropriately delay and deny care that Traditional Medicare would have covered. And countless agencies and organizations have found overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans are today more than $70 billion a year and growing, endangering the Medicare Trust Fund.

Here’s more from Just Care:

August 2, 2023

Republicans could hurt their prospects for controlling the Senate if they support cuts to Medicare and Social Security

Ivana Saric reports for Axios that Republicans could be hurting their ability to take control of the US Senate in 2024 because of their stands on Medicare and Social Security. House Republicans’ support for major spending cuts of Medicare, Social Security and other benefits, are not popular with voters.

There’s plenty of evidence from past Congressional races that voters tend to vote against candidates who seek to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Still, Republicans in the House have obligated themselves to a balanced budget over the next decade. Since they won’t raise taxes, and they don’t seem to want to eliminate waste in Medicare Advantage or to permit Medicare to negotiate drug prices, it seems inevitable that Social Security and Medicare will be on the chopping block. Of course, they are saying that they won’t cut these programs.

The Republicans can’t win on Medicare and Social Security, with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Democratic President. So, it would be wise for them to hold off proposing Medicare and Social Security cuts for the moment. Instead, the Republicans might propose cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which are less politically toxic. Though, the public is not with them on cuts to the Affordable Care Act.

Where are the battles? The Democrats will face competitive races in Ohio, Arizona along with 18 other seats. In West Virginia, Joe Manchin’s seat is on the line. In Montana, Jon Tester’s seat is on the line.

Here’s more from Just Care:

March 14, 2023

Senate Republicans introduce bill to undo Democrats’ prescription drug cost-cutting legislation

Congressional Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will lower health care costs for people with Medicare, capping their out-of-pocket drug costs and allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the highest cost brand-name drugs, among other things. Oliver Willis reports for the American Independent that Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to undo the drug price negotiation provision in the IRA, apparently valuing Pharma’s financial interests over the health and well-being of their constituents.

Senator James Lankford, Oklahoma, Marco Rubio, Florida, Mike Lee, Utah, and Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming, want to stop Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices. The Protecting Drug Innovation Act argues against “price controls.” Its sponsors seemingly fail to appreciate that the Inflation Reduction Act requires drug price negotiation; moreover, people with Medicare today currently are subject to price controls because pharmaceutical manufacturers effectively hold monopoly pricing power as a result of the patent protections the government gives them.

The Republican Senators also curiously argue that their goal is to not shorten lives, even though drug price negotiation is designed to make drugs affordable in order to enrich and extend lives. Every other wealthy country negotiates drug prices on behalf of their residents, and all of them have populations with longer life expectancies than the US.

The three Republican sponsors of the bill are all up for reelection next month. Given that voters have as a top policy priority reining in health care costs, these Senators’ opposition to lower drug costs should lose them votes. Four in five voters support Medicare drug price negotiation, and nearly seven in ten Republicans support it. By one estimate, drug price negotiation will save a couple with Medicare more than $2,400 a year.

Republican policymakers also do not support strengthening and expanding Social Security benefits, another policy the vast majority of Americans support.

Here’s more from Just Care:

October 12, 2022

Tag: Democrat

Poll: Health care costs are a top economic priority for voters

Dems launch attack ads against Senators Cruz and Scott for proposing to take away Medicare

Republicans could hurt their prospects for controlling the Senate if they support cuts to Medicare and Social Security

Senate Republicans introduce bill to undo Democrats’ prescription drug cost-cutting legislation