In A New Poll Released Ahead of Reps. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally’s Senate Debate Tonight Finds Health Care a Top Issue for Majority of Voters, and Strong Opposition to Repeal of ACA and Pre-existing Conditions Protections
Washington, DC – Ahead of tonight’s debate between U.S. Representatives Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Martha McSally (R) in Phoenix, Arizona, a new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) for Protect Our Care is the latest to show health care is a top issue for voters. Building upon today’s bombshell AP story about the heat McSally is getting on the campaign trail for her votes to repeal health care and gut pre-existing conditions protections, the poll also shows that Arizonans strongly oppose Republican health care agenda across the board. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement ahead of the debate:
“Martha McSally has had a bull’s eye on Arizonans’ health care her whole career, and a promotion to the Senate could make her the deciding vote to rip away protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease or cancer. But as this poll shows, the more Arizonans learn about her repeal-and-sabotage record, the more likely they will be to vote for her opponent and a real health care champion, Kyrsten Sinema.”
Key Findings from the Protect Our Care Public Policy Polling survey of Arizona Voters:
- Forty percent of voters say health care is very important when deciding who to vote for in the US Senate election
- Sixty-six percent of voters have a “major concern” with efforts to eliminate protections for people who have pre-existing medical conditions.
- Forty-seven percent of women say health care is very important when deciding who to vote for in the US Senate election
- Sixty-four percent of women and fifty-four percent of men say they want to keep what works and fix what doesn’t in the health care law
- Fifty percent of voters oppose Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
- Sixty-three percent of voters have a “major concern” with Martha McSally’s support for repealing the Affordable Care Act
- Fifty-nine percent of voters oppose the Trump’s Administration’s lawsuit strike down the healthcare law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions
Public Policy Polling surveyed 726 Arizona voters on October 12-13, 2018. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.6%. This poll was conducted using automated telephone interviews on behalf of Protect Our Care.
What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act eliminate?
- Protections for 2,763,200 Arizonans 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
- Medicaid expansion currently covering 425,800 Arizonans
2012: McSally Supported Repealing The ACA: “A Vote For Obamacare Is A Vote Against Small Business And A Vote Against Fiscal Responsibility.” “The United States House of Representatives today passed the Repeal of Obamacare Act, 244-185, with bi-partisan support. Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Representative and candidate in the newly drawn 2nd District, Ron Barber, voted against the Act and in support of Obamacare. ‘Mr. Barber’s vote to save Obamacare is example number 1 of why he needs to be replaced in Congress. Obamacare is costing Americans jobs and driving up our debt. Ron Barber has only been in Washington for 3 weeks and has already become part of the problem. A vote for Obamacare is a vote against small businesses and a vote against fiscal responsibility.'” [Martha McSally for Congress Press Release, 7/11/12]
2015: McSally Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. McSally voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.” The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]
2017: McSally Voted For AHCA, Which Was a Vote AGAINST Pre-existing Conditions Protections. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]
The American Health Care Act weakens key protections of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more, among other provisions. The bill would also make it more likely insurers would cherrypick young and healthier people, causing costs to skyrocket for older, sicker people.
The American Health Care Act allowed states to eliminate community rating, meaning insurers would be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. This surcharge could be in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.
- McSally Encouraged Her GOP Colleagues To “Get This F——g Thing Done” And Repeal The ACA. “Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his GOP leadership team held what amounted to a pep rally for rank-and-file members in the Capitol basement Thursday morning as they predicted victory in their push to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Leaders played the ‘Rocky’ theme song as lawmakers walked into the meeting. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) put an image of George S. Patton on the screen and read inspirational quotes from the general. ‘Let’s get this f–king thing done!’ Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) told her colleagues, according to sources in the room.” [The Hill, 5/4/17]