Voters Disapprove of Repealing the Affordable Care Act and Eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Health Care is The Top Voting Issue Making Voters More Likely to Support Democrats
“Pre-existing Conditions Create Headaches for Ohio Republicans,” writes the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Washington, DC – New Public Policy Polling (PPP) surveys commissioned by Protect Our Care find that health care may be a decisive issue for voters in the Ohio battlegrounds of OH-12 and OH-14. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response to the poll findings:
“Try as they might to hide it, make no mistake: Troy Balderson and Dave Joyce want to roll back protections for 4.8 million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions and you don’t have to look any further than their own record on health care for proof.”
Key Findings from PPP-Protect Our Care Poll OH-12
- Health care is an important issue to voters when deciding who to vote for. 61% say it is either the most important issue or a very important issue when deciding who to vote for.
- Ohioans are very concerned about the possible consequences of repealing the ACA. 59% of voters think charging people 50+ years old, five times more than younger people for health insurance is a major concern. Eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions is a major concern for 64% of voters.
- 64% oppose the Trump administration lawsuit to eliminate the health care law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, including a 46% plurality of Republicans.
Key Findings from PPP-Protect Our Care Poll OH-14
- Health care is an important issue to voters when deciding who to vote for. 64% say it is either the most important issue or a very important issue when deciding who to vote for.
- Ohioans are very concerned about the possible consequences of repealing the ACA. 65% of voters think charging people 50+ years old, five times more than younger people for health insurance is a major concern. Eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions is a major concern for 60% of voters.
- 63% oppose the Trump administration lawsuit to eliminate the health care law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, including a 51% majority of Republicans.
The PPP-Protect Our Care Polls Mirror Data from Google Trends Showing that Searches for Health Care Dominate across the State — including in OH- 12 and OH-14.
- In OH-12, health care is far and away the top issue in searches, with the next most popular issue, immigration, trailing by 17-29 percentage points in Delaware, Monroe and Licking counties.
- In OH 14, health care is also the top issue by a 19-27 percentage point spread in Ashtabula, Lake and Gauga counties.
Here’s how the PPP-Protect Our Care polls were covered locally:
Pre-existing Conditions Create Headaches for Ohio Republicans
Years of pushing for Obamacare repeal have created an unpleasant side effect for Republicans seeking re-election to Congress: Their Democratic opponents are pounding the message that Republicans voted to let insurance companies refuse coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Democrats ranging from Betsy Rader in Ohio’s northeast to Aftab Pureval in the southwest are running ads that accuse Republicans in Congress of voting to end the law’s protections for people with ailments that might disqualify them from buying health insurance. Across the country, Democrats are running similar ads in hopes of winning enough seats to gain control of Congress.
[…] Nowadays, Ohio Republicans who once highlighted their Affordable Care Act opposition are instead stressing their support for its provisions that keep insurance companies from discriminating against sick customers.
Rader’s opponent, Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Dave Joyce, has even erased boasts on his campaign website about his more than 30 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act.