2014 SD Senate debate: on Health Care

Gordon Howie: Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility

Howie: Strongly Disagree

Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.

Howie: Strongly Agree

Rick Weiland: Give Medicare recipients a choice of private insurance

A: "The Medicare Choice Act will give all Americans a choice between Medicare, private insurance, or a combination of both." If elected, Weiland pledges to write, introduce, and fight hard to enact a new health care law that will give every American a choice between buying into Medicare, keeping his or her private insurance, or a combination of both. "The Medicare Choice Act, by simply allowing people to choose what they want, will make our entire health care delivery system cheaper, more responsive to the needs of patients and health care providers, and less responsive to the demands of either big money insurance giants."

Larry Pressler: Keep ObamaCare in place; we need it

Pressler says his priority is restoring bi-partisanship to Washington. "So rather than repealing ObamaCare--impeaching Obama and all this stuff--I am going to try and work with him."

Rick Weiland: Push for public option to expand ObamaCare

A campaign adviser said Weiland is framing his push for a public option as essentially support for allowing the public to buy into Medicare, which is popular with seniors, and his opposition to Keystone XL is appealing to farmers & ranchers who know it could hurt their water supply.

Rick Weiland: Keep parts of ObamaCare that work, and add Medicare option

A: I really think people feel that their government's no longer on their side. And we'll talk a lot about health care and what's wrong with the Affordable Care Act. I think there needs to be a Medicare choice option, to get people an opportunity if they want to buy into Medicare versus having to buy into private insurance.

Q: What kind of reaction do you get in those communities when you tell them you support ObamaCare and expanding Medicare?

A: What I say is that the Affordable Care Act was co-opted by big insurance companies and big drug companies and we didn't get a public option. What I like are the advancements in health care delivery: covering preexisting conditions, eliminating lifetime caps; and coverage up to 26 years old on the parent's plan. Somebody asked me today, 'Would you repeal ObamaCare?' I would repeal what's not working. I would certainly keep what is working. And what I would add to it is this Medicare choice option.

Mike Rounds: Shut down ObamaCare but don't shut down government

Two notable exceptions are former S.D. Gov. Mike Rounds (R) and Alaska Lieutenant Gov. Mead Treadwell (R), who have not fully embraced the efforts. Rounds applauded the House bill, but he didn't go as far as saying he'd be willing to have the government shut down in order to force the issue.

"I support the House CR--keep government running and shut down ObamaCare," he said. "We don't know what (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid will do to the CR on the Senate side, but it's a fight worth having. This is a prime example of the importance of Republicans recapturing the Senate in 2014."