Will Taylor, DeWine and Husted End Silence on Trumpcare?
Health care costs could rise nearly $2,600 for the average Ohioan under House bill
DGA calls on Jon Husted, Mary Taylor, and Mike DeWine to pick a side in health care debate
Last week, a new report showed Trumpcare would result in health care costs rising $2,584 for the average Ohioan. With the U.S. House vote scheduled for this Thursday, the question is: will Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Secretary of State Jon Husted finally take a stance on the bill?
At least 15 Republican governors around the country have spoken out against Trumpcare, which will cause millions to lose insurance and place significant financial burdens on state budgets. Last week, Republican governors Brian Sandoval, Rick Snyder, and Asa Hutchinson, joined Ohio Governor John Kasich in writing a letter to Congressional leaders expressing their full opposition to the bill.
Governor Kasich called the legislation a “very, very bad idea,” but DeWine, Husted, and Taylor have never given voters a clear yes-or-no answer. U.S. Representative fellow gubernatorial candidate, Jim Renacci, voted for the bill in the House Budget Committee.
“With the vote on Trumpcare fast approaching, it’s time for Husted, DeWine, and Taylor to speak up,” said DGA Executive Director Elisabeth Pearson.“This bill threatens the health care of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. Ohio deserves leaders who will stand up and fight against dangerous federal policies, but DeWine, Taylor, and Husted have gone radio silent.”
Background:
Politico: “At Least Fifteen Republican Governors Have Raised Concerns About the House GOP’s Health Care Bill.” According to Politico, “At least 15 Republican governors have raised concerns about the House GOP’s health care bill amid the fiery debate surrounding the long-promised repeal of Obamacare. And no governors have publicly expressed strong support for the American Health Care Act. […] Skepticism from these influential Republicans — whose states face real consequences if the bill is enacted — leaves GOP leaders and the White House without the support they desperately need to keep the embattled legislation on track.” [Politico, 3/14/17]
Gov. Kasich: Repealing Medicaid Expansion is “A Very, Very Bad Idea.” According to CNN, “Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he won’t ‘sit silent’ and watch the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion get ‘ripped out’ as Republicans work to repeal the law. Kasich, a second-term Republican who sought the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2016, told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on ‘State of the Union’ that he wants Republicans to continue coverage for Americans insured by President Barack Obama’s health care law—and to be sure not to repeal the Medicaid expansion without an alternative. ‘That is a very, very bad idea, because we cannot turn our back on the most vulnerable,’ Kasich said. ‘We can give them the coverage, reform the program, save some money, and make sure that we live in a country where people are going to say, ‘at least somebody’s looking out for me,’ he said. ‘It’s not a giveaway program—it’s one that addresses the basic needs of people in our country.’” [CNN, 2/19/17]
After CBO Report, Renacci Voted in Committee to Approve Bill. According to the Associated Press, “The House Budget Committee has voted to advance the troubled Republican health care bill. The American Health Care Act was passed out of committee quickly by a 19-17 vote. That’s one vote shy of what would have been needed to deal a damaging and embarrassing – though not fatal – setback to the party’s showpiece legislation. Three conservative Republicans voted against the bill: Reps. Dave Brat, R-Va.; Mark Sanford, R-S.C.; and Gary Palmer, R-Ala.” [Associated Press, 3/19/17; House Budget Committee Vote, 3/16/17; ~28:27]
Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor’s Spokesman Michael Duchesne: “The Lt. Governor wants to take some more time with this issue before she comments. She's a thoughtful, policy-oriented person and doesn't want to just throw out a sound bite. I'm sure this is going to be topical for awhile and we'd love to have another opportunity to weigh in on the future.”[Politico, 3/9/17]
In 2014, Mike DeWine Called For The Repeal Of Obamacare On His Campaign Website. From Mike DeWine For Ohio’s campaign website: “REPEAL OBAMACARE! Obamacare is a bad law that is adding costs to healthcare, costing Ohio jobs, and causing Ohioans to lose their health insurance. Stand with me by signing the petition telling President Obama to repeal this law and replace it with common-sense healthcare reform.” [Mike DeWine for Ohio, Website, accessed 1/19/17]
In March 2017, Husted Said He Couldn’t Give a “Yes or No Answer” on Supporting the Republican Health Care Replacement Proposal. According to Jon Husted comments at Cedarville University, “Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I can’t give you a yes or no answer on that question. Because let’s talk about what right and wrong is. Is it right that we -- this is another thing from George Washington’s Farewell Address -- that we borrow from future generations to pay for our bills of today? And look, this why these are great debate discussion questions, and I mean this with all sincerity. There are an unlimited amount of things that I think are worthy of being funded. But right now in America we spend $600 billion more a year than we take in, which is a deficit, which is going to add to the $20 trillion deficit that we have in this country that’s going to be paid for by people who’ve not even been born yet. And so it is as a moral question, I don’t believe it’s moral for the people of today to spend somebody else’s money that they might have chosen to invest in their education, a cure for cancer, or something else that we today are spending and aren’t willing to pay for. And so yes, I want to make sure we can provide access to quality, affordable health care for as many people as we can, but at the same time we’re doing this in what I consider to be a very immoral way, by borrowing money from people who aren’t even here to have a voice in this. And so what I believe that the federal government should do is to find a way to get costs under control from places like the pharmaceutical companies, things like which I can imagine we agree on. And get the costs as contained as we can, serve as many people as we can and do it without continuing to balloon our deficits, passing along our burdens to a future generation. And these are -- you know we’re not going to solve health care in this forum tonight, it’s not what I came here to do. I don’t even have a vote on this matter; I’m not a member of Congress. But I do believe that reasonable people, if they want to be reasonable, can develop a better plan than what we have today, and I hope that that will happen.” [Husted Townhall, Cedarville University, 3/14/17]
