Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Congressional, Gubernatorial Election News Related to Health Care
Summaries appear below of recent news related to health care issues in House and Senate elections, as well as the gubernatorial race in Missouri.
Congressional Races
- Louisiana: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is working to remind voters that her increasing seniority in the Senate will benefit them in a number of ways, including addressing long-term issues, such as reducing the cost of health care, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. While Landrieu is tying health care and energy prices to the current economic downturn, her challenger, state Treasurer John Kennedy (R), claims that Landrieu is focusing on these issues because she does not understand the financial markets. Kennedy said, "I don't think Mary understands this issue," adding, "She changes the subject and talks about health care and energy because she doesn't understand it" (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/19).
- Maryland: House candidate state Sen. Andy Harris (R), an anesthesiologist who works at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is among the top 20 campaigns that have received the most money in donations from physicians, nurses and their trade organizations, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, CongressDaily reports. Harris, who ranks 17th overall, is the only candidate on the list who does not hold federal office or has not run for president. Harris' donations from health care professionals and their groups exceed other first-time congressional candidates who are health care professionals by hundreds of thousands of dollars. During this cycle, Harris received $313,850 from health care professionals and their organizations. Harris faces Frank Kratovil (D), the state's attorney for Queen Anne's County, in the general election in what is expected to be a close race (Edney, CongressDaily, 10/22).
- Michigan: Health Care for America Now is increasing its advertising and taking out a full-page newspaper ad against Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), despite Walberg's assertion that the ad is inaccurate, CongressDaily reports. The ad features a woman who says Walberg supported legislation that would allow health insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions. According to a letter sent from Walberg's lawyer to HCAN last week, the bill in question "gives consumers the option to purchase health insurance across state lines" and "has nothing to do with restricting health insurance for cancer victims." The letter requested that the organization correct the ad or remove it (CongressDaily, 10/23).
- New Jersey: While incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has expressed support for the health care proposal of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), his challenger former Rep. Dick Zimmer (R) says that both Obama's and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) plans are nothing more than "position papers with big gaps in them," the Newark Star-Ledger reports. However, Zimmer said he prefers McCain's plan because it aims to increase choice and competition, and he is concerned that Obama's plan "will invariably lead to the government controlling the entire health care marketplace." Zimmer was named the most fiscally conservative member of Congress by the National Taxpayers Union three times during the six years he served, while Lautenberg has consistently voted to expand SCHIP (Schwaneberg, Newark Star-Ledger, 10/20).
- Texas: Although Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) last month "seemed to endorse" McCain's health care proposal, recently he has "retreated" from McCain's plan to shift U.S. residents from employer-based coverage to the nongroup insurance market, the Dallas Morning News reports. Early last month, Cornyn, who is seeking a second term, said, "There's no reason today to have health insurance policies tied to employers." However, on Tuesday he "shied away from supporting a tax on workers' health benefits, which Mr. McCain would use to pay for" his proposed tax credits, according to the Morning News (Garrett, Dallas Morning News, 10/22).
Gubernatorial Race
- Missouri: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday examined the health care proposals of Missouri gubernatorial candidates Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) and state Attorney General Jay Nixon (D). Under Hulshof's proposal, called HealthMAX, the state would pay health insurance premiums on high-deductible health plans for about 134,000 state residents with incomes less than 150% of the federal poverty level. Participants in the plan would be required to contribute 3% to 5% of their income into health savings accounts to pay for medical expenses. In addition, families of four with annual incomes of less than $47,700 would be eligible for tax breaks for health care of about $360 per person. Nixon would increase income eligibility levels for MO HealthNet, the state's Medicaid program, to restore coverage for about 100,000 adults who were cut from the program in 2005 when Gov. Matt Blunt (R) reduced the threshold. Nixon said he also wants to stop requiring moderate-income families to contribute premiums for children enrolled in Medicaid, and he would allow upper-income families to buy into SCHIP. In addition, Nixon said he would restore other services that were cut from the program, including dental and optical care (Young, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/19).
