Following last night’s vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City, Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper released the following statement:
“Last night, Mike Pence failed to defend Donald Trump’s toxic health care agenda — because it’s indefensible. In the midst of a devastating and still-worsening pandemic, Trump is suing to strip health coverage away from hundreds of thousands of Ohioans and deny protections to millions more with pre-existing conditions like cancer, asthma and even COVID-19. You can’t spin that reality.
“Working families can’t afford four more years with a president hell-bent on undermining our health care. Ohioans need advocates in the White House, and we’re going to get them in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
BACKGROUND ON TRUMP’S HEALTH CARE RECORD
Promise: “We’re going to approve and get something that is so much less expensive and so good. A great health care system, a system that you deserve. That’s what we’re going to be doing.” [Cleveland, Oct. 22, 2016]
- Reality: Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Trump and the Republican Party are attempting to overturn the Affordable Care Act — endangering health coverage for 741,000 Ohioans and threatening protections for as many as 5 million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions. The Ohio Hospital Association has warned that repealing the ACA would put a quarter of the state’s hospitals at risk of closure.
- Reality: Trump’s constant attacks on the Affordable Care Act are already taking a toll on the Buckeye State, as Ohio was one of eight states that saw its uninsured rate jump in 2018. The number of uninsured Ohio children increased by 30,000 from 2016 to 2018.
Promise: “We’re attacking the virus from every angle. And through this aggressive strategy, we will win the war, and it will happen sooner than people think.” [Clyde, Aug. 6, 2020]
- Reality: After Trump wasted time ignoring his own advisors and downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, the United States leads the world with over 7 million cases and more than 200,000 deaths. In Ohio alone, more than 162,000 people have contracted the virus, and nearly 5,000 have lost their lives.
- Reality: Even as experts warned of a coming pandemic, Trump sent record shipments of N95 masks overseas. As the Washington Post reported, a shortage of N95 masks still persists six months into the pandemic, “leaving health care workers exposed, patients at risk and public health experts flummoxed over a seemingly simple question: Why is the world’s richest country still struggling to meet the demand for an item that once cost around $1 apiece?”
Photo by SJ Objio on Unsplash