Washington, DC – A new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) for Protect Our Care shows health care is a top issue for voters and that Wisconsinites trust health care champion Senator Tammy Baldwin and Democrats more with their health care than Leah Vukmir and Republicans. This poll comes on the heels of Senator Baldwin and Leah Vukmir’s second debate in Wausau, Wisconsin. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response to the poll findings:
“For Leah Vukmir, the jig is up. Leah Vukmir’s extreme anti-health care positions have done absolutely nothing to help people with pre-existing conditions in Wisconsin — and worse, in fact, it’s hurt women, children and working families. That’s why Wisconsinites know she can’t be trusted on health care and why they prefer Senator Baldwin both on the issue of health care and in their voting preference this fall.”
Key Findings from the Protect Our Care-Public Policy Polling survey of Wisconsin Voters:
- Forty-seven percent of voters say health care is very important when deciding who to vote for in the US Senate election
- Sixty-three percent of voters say want to keep what works and fix what doesn’t in the health care law
- Forty-nine percent of voters have a major concern with Leah Vukmir’s opposition to Medicaid expansion
- Fifty-three percent of voters oppose Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
- Fifty-three percent of voters trust Senator Tammy Baldwin more on the issue of health care
- Sixty-three percent of voters oppose the Trump’s Administration’s lawsuit strike down the health care law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions
- In a head to head matchup, Senator Baldwin enjoys a commanding 10 point lead over Vukmir, 52-42.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 816 Wisconsin voters on October 10-11, 2018. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.4%. This poll was conducted using automated telephone interviews on behalf of Protect Our Care.
What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act mean for Wisconsin?
- Protections for 2.4 million Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
- Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
- Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
- Ban on annual and lifetime limits
- Ban on insurance discrimination against women
- Limit on out-of-pocket costs
Vukmir Supports “Obamacare’s Full Repeal.” “Vukmir reaffirmed her stance against Obamacare. Mattias Gugel, a Vukmir spokesman, said: ‘As a nurse, Leah wants to ensure all people have access to quality health care. Here in Wisconsin — that’s exactly what we had for people with pre-existing conditions before Obamacare was forced on us. Leah has long supported Obamacare’s full repeal and free-market solutions that cover people with pre-existing conditions.’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/9/18]
- Just what are the “free-market solutions” that existed before the Affordable Care Act that Vukmir says she supports? Well, before the Affordable Care Act became law, health coverage on the nongroup market was described as the “wild wild West” of health insurance marketplaces. That was because consumers were at the mercy of insurance companies that could deny coverage, drop coverage, or charge people more based on their health status, gender and age. That was a time when a 60-year-old could be charged $3,854 more annually in premiums.
Vukmir Supported Scott Walker’s Plan To Convert All Health Care Programs To Block Grants: “A Successful Repeal Of Obamacare Begins With The Federal Government Handing Over The Reins To The States.” “State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, Tuesday endorsed Gov. Scott Walker’s request of the White House and Congress to send states block grants, giving them full responsibility for health care programs. ‘Healthcare is very personal,’ said Vukmir, chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. ‘That’s why those closest to our constituents, not Washington bureaucrats, should be responsible for tailoring our programs to fit Wisconsin’s needs. A successful repeal of Obamacare begins with the federal government handing over the reins to the states.’” [State Senator Leah Vukmir Press Release, 8/22/17]
- Converting health care programs to block grants was the core of what the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have done. Multiple independent analyses agreed that the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have cut federal funding to states including a $29 billion cut over two decades to Wisconsin.
Though Leah Vukmir claims she supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions, saying “patients with pre-existing conditions should be covered,” she has turned her back on Wisconsinites at every opportunity to do so.
- Vukmir refuses to stand against a lawsuit designed to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration refused to defend against a lawsuit brought by twenty conservative states aimed at overturning the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Leah Vukmir refuses to speak against this lawsuit, instead calling it a “necessary step.”
- Vukmir refuses to take action at the state level against the Trump administration’s junk plan and association plan rules that let insurance companies discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration finalized a junk plan rule and an association plan rule that allow insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Experts warn that these moves will only increase the cost of comprehensive care, ultimately making it even harder for people with pre-existing conditions to get the care they need. Twenty-one states have taken or are taking action to limit the harmful effects of these junk plans, but Vukmir refuses to do the same for Wisconsin.
- Vukmir supports Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. As cases to overturn the Affordable Care Act make their way through the courts, Leah Vukmir still has not come out against Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the court. Instead, she has voiced support for Trump’s nominee who could decide cases that would strip protections from people with pre-existing conditions. Kavanaugh has previously criticized Chief Justice Roberts’ decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act.