2020 MA Senatorial race: on Health Care


Ed Markey: COVID: Trump's response "criminally negligent"

Markey faulted Trump's handling of the COVID-19 response, calling the Republican president "criminally negligent." Markey noted that he requested information about the Trump administration's preparations and also called on Trump to appoint a coronavirus response czar. "I was the first senator to call upon him to use the Defense Production Act to produce the testing, the PPE, the tracing technologies that were necessary," he said.
Source: The Boston Globe on 2020 Massachusetts Senate debate Oct 6, 2020

Kevin O`Connor: Competitive marketplace will reduce health care costs

Every American deserves access to affordable health insurance. Socialized medicine, however, will increase costs and reduce the quality of care. The plan supported by the Democrats in this race eliminates private insurance, increases the federal budget by 60 percent, and costs taxpayers $32 trillion. Kevin O`Connor favors increasing competition, expanding premium tax credits for middle-income families, and moving more subsidy-eligible individuals into Marketplace plans.
Source: 2020 Massachusetts Senate campaign website KOCforSenate.com Oct 6, 2020

Kevin O`Connor: Repeal ACA only if pre-existing conditions still covered

O'Connor said he disagrees with the administration-backed lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though he supports repealing the landmark bill if individuals with pre-existing conditions still have access to plans.
Source: The Boston Globe on 2020 Massachusetts Senate debate Oct 6, 2020

Kevin O`Connor: Against mask mandate; "all contact is not equal"

While Markey supports a mask mandate to help curb the virus that's infected 132,905 Bay Staters and killed more than 9,300, O'Connor said he does not, and agreed with existing guidelines. "There are appropriate guidelines that people should follow, and certainly within confined spaces, yes, then I think it's appropriate to regulate," O'Connor said. When pressed on why he's been seen campaigning without a mask in close quarters, O'Connor said it's "about duration of contact, & all contact is not equal."
Source: The Boston Herald on 2020 Massachusetts Senate debate Oct 5, 2020

Shiva Ayyadurai: Patients & doctors determine vaccinations, not government

Bill Proposed by Dr.SHIVA Ayyadurai, MIT PhD: This Bill proposes a Real Solution for Immune Health by decentralizing decision-making on matters concerning the immune health of the individual to the sovereignty of the healthcare provider-patient relationship and eliminating the undue intervention of said sovereignty by the Federal Government so as to enable the delivery of modern Precision and Personalized medical interventions for advancing immune health & resilience.
Source: 2020 Massachusetts Senate campaign website Shiva4Senate.com Feb 4, 2020

Al Gross: Alaska has most expensive health care in the world

[My opponent Dan Sullivan] voted against health care on numerous occasions, taking away pre-existing conditions coverage or taking away the ability for those under 26 to stay on their parents' plans. It became clear he didn't understand or care about the economic impact health care is having on our state. Alaska has the most expensive health care in the world and I really believe it's keeping new businesses from moving here because the overhead costs for businesses are just too high.
Source: Anchorage Press on 2020 Massachusetts Senate debate Jan 22, 2020

Al Gross: Public option allows Alaska to compete on equal basis

For a state like Alaska, let individuals and small businesses buy into Medicare as an option. If a business is trying to decide where to put their employees, and if health care costs are half as much in Idaho as they are in Alaska, they're going to put them in Idaho. But if it's a level playing field and you have the same overhead for employees, there's no reason not to put those employees in Alaska.
Source: Anchorage Press on 2020 Massachusetts Senate debate Jan 22, 2020

Joe Kennedy III: ACA has done good things for people in need

Joe Kennedy has been unhesitant to defend the Affordable Care Act amid recent Republican efforts to replace the law. "That hearing for 28 hours that I was in last week, while you heard story after story from my Republican colleagues saying how disastrous this was, there was also an intern in there for a lot of it from my office whose life was saved--twice--by the Affordable Care Act," Kennedy said. "You cannot deny that this law has done some really good things to some people in need."
Source: Boston Globe on 2020 Massachusetts Senate race Mar 14, 2017

Ed Markey: Expand online clinical trials registry

The field of medical research is central to the Massachusetts economy and to the health and well-being of our residents. Federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports 35,000 jobs in Massachusetts, which receives more NIH funding per capita than any other state. Ed is a leader in the effort to ensure full funding for NIH, supporting our researchers and helping Massachusetts remain the global leader in medical research and biotechnology. Ed also led the reform at the FDA to greatly expand an online clinical trials registry database so the public can determine which medications are the subject of clinical trials.
Source: Vote-USA.org on 2020 Massachusetts Senate race Oct 23, 2014

  • The above quotations are from 2020 Massachusetts Senatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Massachusetts on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Ed Markey on Health Care.
Candidates and political leaders on Health Care:

Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Sep 17, 2022