Previewing the doctors and pharmacists coming to Congress in 2020
Democrats’ campaign 2018 messaging focused on protecting the Affordable Care Act and lowering prescription drug prices. Amid Covid-19 and a chaotic two years under President Trump, those issues are less at the forefront this time around, but there are still elections with huge health care implications. I’m already fascinated by the U.S. Senate race in Kansas, which pits Rep. Roger Marshall, a Republican, against Democratic state senator Barbara Bollier. Both are trained physicians, but that’s where the similarities end.
Marshall made headlines after a 2017 STAT piece where he voiced his opposition to the ACA and to Medicaid expansion by arguing that some people “just don’t want health care.” But his deep-red state, and the politics surrounding health care in general, have changed: Kansans voted to expand Medicaid that same year, though a conservative governor vetoed the measure. The state legislature almost expanded Medicaid itself this year, before a debate over abortion derailed an otherwise-bipartisan bill.
The surprisingly competitive race between Marshall and Bollier seems emblematic of broader health care dynamic in 2020: Despite all the attention that “Medicare for All” has received, the most consequential races are still between conservative Republicans, who have collectively failed to introduce viable ACA alternatives, and moderate Democrats, who favor major expansions like a “public option” but not universal coverage. See also: Trump vs. Biden!
Two more races to keep an eye on: In Tennessee, Republican pharmacist Diana Harshbarger is shoo-in to replace longtime congressman Phil Roe (a doctor himself), and mentions drug prices repeatedly in her platform. She’s the former president of a now-defunct drug company called American Inhalation Specialists, which her husband ran for over a decade until he was sentenced to prison for mislabeling Chinese medicines as American-made. Her campaign, bizarrely, has claimed she had “zero involvement” with the company despite her longtime involvement. Here’s the best part: Local news outlets resurfaced the controversy back in May after Harshbarger aired a campaign ad that criticized — wait for it — U.S. reliance on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing. In news stories, she’s declined to comment about those discrepancies.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, Democrat Cameron Webb is trying to flip the state’s sprawling 5th district and become the first Black doctor to vote in Congress. (Trivia time: Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen, a former delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a Black doctor who served in Congress, but delegates from U.S. territories don’t get to vote.)
Webb is a practicing doctor who’s pulling overnight shifts treating Covid patients while campaigning. He’s also a former Obama administration health care aide, and like Bollier in Kansas, he’s stayed away from endorsing Medicare for All. He’s argued extensively, instead, for a “public option” and nationwide Medicaid expansion. His platform also supports direct Medicare negotiation for “certain” prescription drugs — language that’s notably more cautious than that of many other Democrats.
Marshall made headlines after a 2017 STAT piece where he voiced his opposition to the ACA and to Medicaid expansion by arguing that some people “just don’t want health care.” But his deep-red state, and the politics surrounding health care in general, have changed: Kansans voted to expand Medicaid that same year, though a conservative governor vetoed the measure. The state legislature almost expanded Medicaid itself this year, before a debate over abortion derailed an otherwise-bipartisan bill.
The surprisingly competitive race between Marshall and Bollier seems emblematic of broader health care dynamic in 2020: Despite all the attention that “Medicare for All” has received, the most consequential races are still between conservative Republicans, who have collectively failed to introduce viable ACA alternatives, and moderate Democrats, who favor major expansions like a “public option” but not universal coverage. See also: Trump vs. Biden!
Two more races to keep an eye on: In Tennessee, Republican pharmacist Diana Harshbarger is shoo-in to replace longtime congressman Phil Roe (a doctor himself), and mentions drug prices repeatedly in her platform. She’s the former president of a now-defunct drug company called American Inhalation Specialists, which her husband ran for over a decade until he was sentenced to prison for mislabeling Chinese medicines as American-made. Her campaign, bizarrely, has claimed she had “zero involvement” with the company despite her longtime involvement. Here’s the best part: Local news outlets resurfaced the controversy back in May after Harshbarger aired a campaign ad that criticized — wait for it — U.S. reliance on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing. In news stories, she’s declined to comment about those discrepancies.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, Democrat Cameron Webb is trying to flip the state’s sprawling 5th district and become the first Black doctor to vote in Congress. (Trivia time: Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen, a former delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a Black doctor who served in Congress, but delegates from U.S. territories don’t get to vote.)
Webb is a practicing doctor who’s pulling overnight shifts treating Covid patients while campaigning. He’s also a former Obama administration health care aide, and like Bollier in Kansas, he’s stayed away from endorsing Medicare for All. He’s argued extensively, instead, for a “public option” and nationwide Medicaid expansion. His platform also supports direct Medicare negotiation for “certain” prescription drugs — language that’s notably more cautious than that of many other Democrats.
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