2022 PA Senate race: on Health Care


Carla Sands: Vaccine mandates put us on slippery slope to tyranny

Those of us who oppose Biden's mandates aren't advocating for or against the vaccine, but for the freedom of every American to make their own decisions. We believe that mandating health decisions is a slippery slope to tyranny. Let's not forget that these mandates have severe consequences on our general economic health. Despite another month of severely disappointing employment numbers, the Biden administration has decided to level yet another crushing weight onto the shoulders of employers.
Source: Townhall.com on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race Oct 19, 2021

David McCormick: Government should never impose vaccine mandates

COVID lockdowns have damaged our children and destroyed small businesses, and the big government overreach has to stop. Unlike Anthony Fauci and President Biden, Dave trusts the American people and stands for personal freedom. He believes the government should never impose vaccine mandates on citizens and children belong in school. Parents should be deciding what is best for their children, not teachers' unions and special interests.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign web DaveMcCormickPA.com May 22, 2022

Jeff Bartos: Vaccinated but opposed to federal mandates

A slice of the Republican electorate has declined to be vaccinated against the virus and view it as either a hoax or overblown by the media. Bartos said that, yes, he has been vaccinated, but opposes federal mandates. "I felt that being vaccinated was the right thing for me, and I believe at my core we should trust people to do what's best for themselves and their families."
Source: Observer-Reporter on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race Jul 30, 2021

Jeff Bartos: Vaccine mandate is a backbreaker for small businesses

Jeff will fight back against any and all attempts at instituting a federal vaccine mandate. These mandates are a backbreaker for small businesses, driving up operating costs, and forcing even more businesses to close. If the Coronavirus pandemic taught us one thing, it is that small businesses cannot afford more burdensome regulation from lawmakers who have no idea what running a business entails.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website JeffBartos.com Jul 19, 2021

John Fetterman: Supports single-payer health care

Fetterman is a leftist who's been endorsed by Bernie Sanders; in a 2018 profile, the Washington Post wrote that Fetterman was "pro-marijuana before it was mainstream; risked impeachment from his mayoral office by officiating a same-sex wedding before it was legal; [and] supports single-payer health care." He's not all liberal hero: He's a gun owner and has been criticized for supporting some fracking in Pennsylvania.
Source: Slate blog on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race Nov 7, 2020

Kathy Barnette: Don't force people through coercive mandates

Americans, with the advice of their medical professionals, must be able to make their own decisions as we face the continuation of the Corona Virus pandemic. Government forcing people through coercive mandates is not the solution. I trust Americans, if given good information, to make good, well-informed decisions for themselves and their family.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate website BarnetteForSenate.com Feb 16, 2022

Kathy Barnette: Remove stigmas associated with mental illness

For far too long we have tiptoed around mental illness and the impact it is having on our society. We must continue the conversation and explore ways to remove stigmas associated with mental illnesses and provide the love, support, and care that our struggling brothers and sisters so desperately need.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate website BarnetteForSenate.com Feb 16, 2022

Mehmet Oz: Elites fighting COVID pandemic took away our freedom

Covid-19 became an excuse for government and elite thinkers who controlled the means of communication, especially social media and our major news agencies, to suspend debate. Doctors were forbidden from prescribing legal medications for the first time in our nation's history. I tried to fund clinical trials to re-purpose an already widely used drug for possible benefits against Covid-19, but they were banned. Instead, government mandated policies that caused unnecessary suffering.

We were told to docilely lock down and let those in charge take care of the rest. When we tested positive for the virus, we were also told to wait at home until we got sick enough to warrant hospitalization.not a typical medical protocol. Elites with yards told those without yards to stay inside--where the virus was more likely to spread. And the arrogant, closed-minded people in charge closed our schools, shut down our businesses and took away our freedom.

Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website DoctorOz.com Dec 8, 2021

Mehmet Oz: Expand access to private sector plans for prescription drugs

As a doctor, Oz has seen the inside of the massive health-care industrial complex. He's bravely argued against costly drugs, even as it made him a target of drug companies. As a U.S. Senator, he'll work to dismantle policies that lead to more expensive prescription drugs for our seniors, and he'll expand access to private sector plans expanded by President Trump and beloved by seniors for their low costs and high quality that could be available to all Americans who want them.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website DoctorOz.com Dec 8, 2021

Mehmet Oz: Criticized for promoting dubious cures on his TV show

He was hawking "miracle" weight loss drugs. There was green coffee extract: "You may think magic is make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they've found the magic weight-loss cure for every body type." And raspberry ketones: "the No. 1 miracle in a bottle to burn your fat." He also touted umckaloabo root extract as a cure for cold symptoms (it doesn't work), and lavender soap for leg cramps (don't bother). A 2014 study by Canadian researchers found that only 46 percent of the advice dispensed on the Dr. Oz show was based on science. The following year 1000 physicians signed a letter calling upon Oz to resign from the Columbia faculty. "He's a quack and a fake and a charlatan," wrote Dr. Henry Miller of Stanford.
Source: The Bulwark blog on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race Dec 1, 2021

Sharif Street: Create a public option to compete with private insurers

The Affordable Care Act provided many unisured Pennsylvanians an opportunity to purchase affordable health insurance as part of the Healthcare Marketplace. Over the past few years, premiums have continued to rise, making options in the market place harder for many to access. Sharif supports creating a "Public Option" to compete with private insurers in the marketplace and the creation of a reinsurance program in Pennsylvania that would help insurers lower their premiums.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website StreetForPA.com Jun 27, 2022

Val Arkoosh: Focus on disparities in health outcomes for Black moms

Val believes this must include a focus on the disparities in health outcomes for Black moms, which she has seen firsthand during her time on the labor and delivery floor, and her position on Pennsylvania's Maternal Mortality Review Committee. She understands that improving health outcomes for Black moms will require investment, implicit bias training, programming that reaches moms during pregnancy and when they are postpartum and expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website ValArkoosh.com Dec 19, 2021

  • The above quotations are from 2022 Pennsylvania Senate 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 Pat Toomey 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)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Jun 05, 2024