2014 KS Senate debate: on Health Care


Greg Orman: Futile to repeal ObamaCare while Obama is in office

Roberts has been a consistent and vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act, supporting its immediate and complete repeal. He called for the resignation of then-Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a family friend, after problems with the national website for insurance sign-ups. He has called for health care "reforms" following ObamaCare repeal, but he has not said precisely what those reforms would be.

Roberts has supported health care spending at times. He voted for the prescription drug benefit that was added to Medicare in 2003 and has supported federal efforts to expand health care delivery options in rural areas.

Orman has not expressed support for repeal of the entire Affordable Care Act and says the Republican Party's repeal attempts are futile until President Barack Obama leaves office. But he has criticized Obamacare as an expansion of a "broken system" and says he would have voted against the measure had he been in the Senate.

Source: The Kansas City Star on 2014 Kansas Senate race Sep 19, 2014

Pat Roberts: Immediate and complete repeal of ObamaCare

Roberts has been a consistent and vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act, supporting its immediate and complete repeal. He called for the resignation of then-Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a family friend, after problems with the national website for insurance sign-ups. He has called for health care "reforms" following ObamaCare repeal, but he has not said precisely what those reforms would be.

Roberts has supported health care spending at times. He voted for the prescription drug benefit that was added to Medicare in 2003 and has supported federal efforts to expand health care delivery options in rural areas.

Orman has not expressed support for repeal of the entire Affordable Care Act and says the Republican Party's repeal attempts are futile until President Barack Obama leaves office. But he has criticized Obamacare as an expansion of a "broken system" and says he would have voted against the measure had he been in the Senate.

Source: The Kansas City Star on 2014 Kansas Senate race Sep 19, 2014

Milton Wolf: Repeal ObamaCare & replace with PatientCare free market

Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.

Wolf: Strongly Disagree

Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.

Wolf: Strongly Agree. As a medical doctor, I am well aware of the many reasons why we must fully repeal ObamaCare. I have authored a free-market alternative to ObamaCare, called PatientCare. I believe we must fully repeal ObamaCare and replace it with a free-market alternative.

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Kansas Senate race Jul 2, 2014

Milton Wolf: Apologizes for posting gruesome medical X-rays on Facebook

Milton Wolf sought forgiveness Sunday from anyone offended by his posting to Facebook of gory medical images of dead & injured people.

Wolf responded to a story published by The Topeka Capital-Journal and a tidal wave of condemnation about X-ray imager he uploaded to the social media site and sadistic jokes he made online about individuals killed by gunfire or harmed in other ways. "Several years ago, I made some comments about these images that were insensitive to the seriousness of what the images revealed," Wolf, a radiologist, said. "I soon removed those images. However, my mistakes are my own & I take full responsibility for them."

He said the cumulative effect of witnessing human suffering & tragedy took a toll on those practicing medicine, but "I am truly sorry and ask for your forgiveness."

Wolf also held his "political adversary" responsible for igniting controversy about the images. He said Roberts "wants to attack me as a doctor rather than giving Kansans a reason to vote for him."

Source: Topeka Capital-Journal AdWatch on 2014 Kansas Senate race Feb 23, 2014

Pat Roberts: First to call for Sebelius resignation over ObamaCare fiasco

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat as the Obama administration battles to rebound from a problem-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act [and the ObamaCare website healthcare.gov]. She set off a fresh round of GOP criticism after she said those calling for her resignation were "people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place."

Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.

Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "

Source: USA Today reporting on 2014 Kansas Senate race Oct 29, 2013

Todd Tiahrt: Calls for Sebelius resignation over ObamaCare fiasco

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat as the Obama administration battles to rebound from a problem-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act [and the ObamaCare website healthcare.gov]. She set off a fresh round of GOP criticism after she said those calling for her resignation were "people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place."

Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.

Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "

Source: USA Today reporting on 2014 Kansas Senate race Oct 29, 2013

Milton Wolf: ObamaCare extends "crony health care" which began in 1929

While we certainly have problems, America still has the finest health care system in the world. That patients flee their government-run systems--like Great Britain's and Canada's--and flock to America for our medical miracles should be an obvious clue to not recreate their failures; obvious to everyone, that is, except ObamaCare supporters.

While the Constitution does not give the federal government the authority to interfere with our health care, the big-government types have been at work for decades and have, by any fair assessment, wreaked havoc. The first health care waiver was granted in 1929 when the American Medical Association successfully lobbied that Blue Cross be exempt from certain regulations and taxes. Thus began the era of crony health care where Big Government's friends were more equal than the rest of us.

Source: Milton Wolf OpEd on FoxNews.com: 2014 Kansas Senate race May 10, 2011

Milton Wolf: ObamaCare turns health insurers into public utilities

ObamaCare mandates that every free citizen purchase state-sanctioned insurance while it increases taxes (on everything from tampons and tanning salons to gold and the sale of your home); it increases spending even more; it turns health insurance companies into public utilities; it eliminates proven free-market reforms and it sets in place the mechanism for health care rationing. What's more, ObamaCare has been ruled unconstitutional.

The unkeepable promises of ObamaCare are, as we say in medicine, too numerous to count, and are already collapsing. You can keep your current doctor and your current insurance. No tax increases. No rationing. Reduce the deficit. Four million new jobs created--"400,000 almost immediately." Public hearings. These are the pathetic peddlings of false hope.

The President made yet another empty promise: if there was a way to solve our health care problems with the free market, he said, he'd be happy to do so. I'm calling his obvious bluff.

Source: Milton Wolf OpEd on FoxNews.com: 2014 Kansas Senate race May 10, 2011

Milton Wolf: Free market solutions ALREADY work; so add more

The President made an empty promise: if there was a way to solve our health care problems with the free market, he said, he'd be happy to do so. I'm calling his obvious bluff. It's not just that free market solutions will work, it's that they already are! Areas like Lasik eye surgery, cosmetic surgery and even medical tourism have seen medical costs decrease and patient satisfaction soar. There are numerous reform measures Americans deserve; key among them are these:
  1. Tax Fairness. Allow Americans to purchase their own insurance without a tax penalty.
  2. End state insurance and licensing monopolies. End the devastating boundaries that kill competition and drive up costs.
  3. Eliminate frivolous lawsuits. You pay a "lawsuit tax" on everything from Band-Aids to open-heart surgery. The average obstetrician's malpractice insurance cost approaches $100,000 per year & they each deliver around 100 babies per year. That $1000 per baby "lawsuit tax". Source: Milton Wolf OpEd on FoxNews.com: 2014 Kansas Senate race May 10, 2011

    Todd Tiahrt: FactCheck: Yes, ObamaCare levies some taxes before services

    Todd Tiahrt said in a House speech that ObamaCare will "collect higher taxes for 10 years and provide health care for only six years." Republicans have often charged that the Democrats are cooking the books. Is Tiahrt's statement true?

    The comment does not tell the whole story. Two of the highest-profile and significant elements of the bill start in 2014. Health care exchanges would start that year, as well as subsidies to help people buy coverage on the exchange. And, yes, some of the tax provisions that do start immediately: a 10% levy on indoor tanning, and an escalating annual fee on drugmakers.

    So Tiahrt is correct that the bill's biggest expansions in coverage do not happen until 2014, and that some taxation begins well before that. But he makes it sound like all the taxes hit immediately and there are no significant benefits in the first four years. In fact, the taxes levied in the early years account for a small percentage of the total dollars involved. So we find his claim Half True.

    Source: PolitiFact FactCheck on 2014 Kansas Senate race Mar 16, 2010

    • The above quotations are from 2014 Kansas Senate debates.
    • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
    • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
    • Click here for more quotes by Pat Roberts on Health Care.
    • Click here for more quotes by Todd Tiahrt on Health Care.
    Candidates and political leaders on Health Care:

    Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
    GA:Chambliss(R)
    IA:Harkin(D)
    MI:Levin(D)
    MT:Baucus(D)
    NE:Johanns(R)
    OK:Coburn(R)
    SD:Johnson(D)
    WV:Rockefeller(D)

    Resigned from 113th House:
    AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
    FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
    LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
    MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
    MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
    NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
    SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
    Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
    AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
    GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
    GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
    GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
    HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
    IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
    LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
    ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
    MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
    MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
    OK-5:James Lankford(R)
    PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
    TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
    WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
    Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
    AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
    AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
    CA-11:George Miller(D)
    CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
    CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
    CA-45:John Campbell(R)
    IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
    MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
    NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
    NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
    NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
    NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
    NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
    PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
    UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
    VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
    VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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    Page last updated: Dec 06, 2018