Twelve years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, Democrats are focused on further expanding coverage and lowering health care costs, while Republicans remain committed to repealing the law and gutting its coverage protections. Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the quiet part out loud earlier this month, when he again urged Republicans to repeal the health care law and gut its health care coverage protections — and he’s sadly just one of many 2022 Republican U.S. Senate candidates running on that record and pushing a repeal agenda.
It isn’t just Ron Johnson. Here’s a look at just some of the other 2022 U.S. Senate Republicans who are campaigning on a record of attacking the ACA and pushing to end the law and its pre-existing condition coverage protections:
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In Arizona, AG and Senate candidate Mark Brnovich “cheered” and backed the GOP lawsuit to fully strike down the ACA and its coverage protections. Blake Masters has slammed the health care law. And Jim Lamon is likewise campaigning against the law.
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In Florida, incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio has repeatedly voted for ACA repeal plans. And he stood by Florida’s involvement in the GOP lawsuit to fully dismantle the law and its coverage protection for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
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In Missouri, both Reps. Billy Long and Vicky Hartzler voted for the 2017 AHCA GOP repeal plan that would cut coverage protections and drive up costs. Eric Schmitt involved Missouri taxpayers in the GOP legal effort to dismantle the ACA entirely and end the law’s coverage protections. And Eric Greitens has backed GOP ACA repeal plans for years.
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In Nevada, DC establishment favorite Adam Laxalt has campaigned against the ACA for years and endorsed legal efforts to dismantle the law and its coverage protections. Laxalt — who is invested in Big Pharma stocks — has also opposed Democratic efforts to give Medicare the authority to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
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In New Hampshire, GOP Senate candidates Chuck Morse and Kevin Smith have campaigned against the Affordable Care Act for years.
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In North Carolina, two GOP primary candidates — Ted Budd and Mark Walker — were both in the U.S. House and supported the 2017 GOP AHCA repeal plan, voting to gut pre-existing condition coverage protections and let insurance companies charge older Americans more for coverage. And Pat McCrory blocked Carolina’s Medicaid expansion as Governor.
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In Ohio, GOP frontrunners Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons have campaigned against the ACA for years.
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In Pennsylvania, the GOP field is so opposed to the ACA that even Mehmet Oz — who, as a TV doctor, spent years praising the law — is now running against the ACA in his GOP primary, with his campaign now saying he never would have voted for it.
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In Wisconsin, incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson said just this month that Republicans should repeal the ACA if they retake the Senate. That echoes years of anti-ACA rhetoric from Johnson, who said last year he regrets that Republicans have so far failed to eliminate the law.
