When surveyed, the top issue for voters in the recent midterm elections was healthcare. In fact, almost 70 percent of voters polled indicated that the healthcare system is in immediate and serious need of major changes.
Voters indicated that their three most important concerns motivated the way they voted and included protecting those with pre-existing conditions, lowering prescription drug prices, and expanding Medicaid nationwide.
Although every candidate as well as President Donald Trump indicated they would support healthcare coverage for those with preexisting conditions, the time has now come for answers and solutions.
In September, attorney generals from 18 states as well as 2 governors filed a lawsuit in an effort to completely eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Their claim was that the new tax law eliminated the individual mandate fine, making the mandate unconstitutional and no longer valid.
This summer, the Trump Administration decided not to support the Affordable Care Act in the lawsuit, indicating that those with preexisting conditions may not be protected as previously indicated.
Since the midterm elections are behind us, we are waiting for the federal judge’s ruling, which is expected soon. His decision is crucial because it could potentially void all protections for preexisting conditions under the Affordable Care Act. Congress, however, in a strategic move, could then initiate bipartisan legislation to negate the ruling and then create protection for preexisting conditions separate from the Affordable Care Act.
Another major healthcare concern for voters is soaring prescription drug prices. There are various ideas circulating that offer solutions for the ridiculously priced prescription drug prices in the U.S. including laws to regulate the rebates received by pharmaceutical services companies from drug manufacturers. In addition, some agree that allowing the government to negotiate prescription drug prices with Big-Pharma via the Medicare and Medicaid programs will help reduce the cost.
President Trump’s plan is to use a global pricing index in order to price drugs administered by physicians and paid for through Medicare, as currently, the U.S. pays more for these drugs than other country in the world.
The refusal of corporate PAC money from drug companies by 72 percent of the names in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is a clear indication that elected officials are finally ready to take on this fight.
Expansion of Medicaid is also worrisome for voters. Due to the court rulings that gave states the choice of extending Medicaid benefits to low-income individuals, 18 states declined the expansion. Voters were hopeful after midterms when three of those states passed referendums to expand Medicaid.
In addition, three states elected governors who were known to support Medicaid expansion, which is sending a clear signal to officials about what voters really want. Although these are just state initiatives, voters are telling the government exactly what they want in terms of greater expansion of Medicaid nationwide.
~ Conservative Zone
Louis Farrakhan should be arrested for “hate speech” against the Jewish People Twitter and all social media should immediately remove him. He is like the “Ku Klux Klan” who is a hate group. Antifa, George Soros and Louis Farrakhan are hate speech mongrels and should be abolished and considered “hate speech mongrels” and not be allowed to demean anyone in this country, especially Jewish people. Farrakhan is the Hitler of the USA. And so is Soros who formed the J Street group and paid money to the caravans coming into the US. Antifa is a hate group that covers its faces. Look what they did to Tucker Carlson at his home. They published the names and addresses of the people who broadcast on Fox. Antifa should be outlawed as is the Ku Klux Klan. Does this country only protect black people or is this country supposed to protect all American citizens. Well, America has fallen down on the job, due to the incompetent Congress who only wants to go on vacations and not pass legislation outlawing these mobs of gangsters who threaten American lives. We need to outlaw Maxine Waters, who threatened people and belongs in jail, Antifa, Soros, Twitter and other social media that allow hate speech and most of all LOUIS FARAKHAN who hates America and said so in his speech in Iran. “Death to America and Death to the Jewish people.” This is what Farakhan stated while in Iran. Farakhan should lose his citizenship and live in Iran. We need legislation from our Congress outlawing these hate mongers NOW.
Obama care raised my wife’s ins. To over 4000 dollars a year, and made it impossible for me to afford ins. on the both of us. Then if you didn’t carry ins. the government wanted to tax (fine) us for not being able to afford their ins. and live our daily lives.
I hear of people getting their meds out of country through the mail due to the high costs in the U.S. This needs to be checked out. Why is our medicals so much more expensive when it is the same thing? Some say legislators take bribes so the people selling the drugs can demand whatever price they want. I don’t want an on and on and on going investigation started. I want a real investigation on this so we can all get our drugs at the cheaper rate. If medical companies are gouging us and paying legislatures, lets get them all behind bars and get these costs down.
every year in the U.S. more than 100,000 people are KILLED by the correct use of correctly prescribed medications (around 2 million globally) – another 50,000 are killed by illicit drug overdose and more than half of those people die from Pharmaceutical medications like opioids (not heroin, crack, cocaine etc)
where is the public OUTRAGE? where is the government program to mitigate this travesty? where is the media coverage?
there is none, because Big Pharma have bought and paid for everyone in the government and everyone in the medical industrial complex
Medicaid is a welfare program that, even without expansion, eats into state budgets more and more. Expanding Medicaid makes it worse.
One huge factor in pricing of our drugs is the continuing threat of mega-lawsuits from money hungry lawyers.
Also, it takes years of experimenting and patient trials for a new drug to be approved by the FDA.
I do not want to see illegal aliens getting free medicine and poor U. S. citizens don’t and can’t afford them. And since our government is spending more money than it is taking in, I want us to stop supporting foreign governments!
No one seems to have noticed the connections between mandated coverage of existing conditions, premium rates, and the individual mandate to be insured. Without the individual mandate, it would make no sense for anyone to pay for insurance when healthy. The “Affordable Care Act”was so badly flawed, even with the individual mandate, to be fixed. Without the mandate, it is already in it’s death throes. The Republicans authored a replacement bill that was far from perfect, but rather than offer amendments to improve it, Congressional Democrats voted unanimously against it. This leaves us in the unenviable position of having largely destroyed our health insurance industry, we have an impossible National health insurance law that we can’t seem to do anything about. It appears that Democrats hate President Trump so much that they are willing to destroy our country and kill numerous Americans just to make him look bad.