Axios Live: Health care affordability emerges as a defining issue
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photographer Kris Tripplaar for Axios
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concerns about health care costs are motivating voters across the ideological spectrum, lawmakers and policy experts said at a June 24 Axios Live event.
Why it matters: As midterm elections loom, an Axios-Ipsos poll found that a plurality of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate who prioritizes lowering health costs.
Axios' Brittany Gibson and Erica Pandey moderated conversations with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), KFF survey methodology director Ashley Kirzinger and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The program was sponsored by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
By the numbers: "Two-thirds of Americans say health costs are their top worry," according to a KFF survey cited by Kirzinger.
- "55% say that their health costs now are more expensive than they were a year ago, and 80% are worried about the cost of living," she added.
What they're saying: Health care affordability is "intrinsically tied to the economy," Kirzinger said.
- "When folks are thinking about health care, they're also saying to themselves, 'Can I afford to get sick? Am I having to make decisions about getting to work?" Kamlager-Dove said.
- "We've had 6 out of 13 LA County clinics close because of loss of revenue," she added. "We are hearing from four or so hospitals that are possibly considering closure."
- "Let's get rid of the red tape that the Republicans are pouring into" the health system, Wyden said. "That's the way to make care a little bit more affordable right now."
What's next: Wyden and 14 Democratic co-sponsors introduced legislation this week to limit the amount seniors pay for Medicare.
Content from the sponsor's segment:
"Defunding health care is deeply unpopular," said Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Action Fund's president and CEO, in a View From the Top conversation. And Americans are "choosing between filling their prescriptions, getting an IUD or making rent. These choices are going to be front and center in the voting booth."
