State of Pennsylvania secondary Archives: on Health Care
Brendan Boyle:
Push to create a public option for insurance
In Congress I will join the push to create a "Public Option" for health care. I believe it builds on the health care reform legislation by creating more competition, lowering costs and it provides a great way to bring down the deficit.
In fact the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a public option could save as much as twenty five billion dollars over ten years.
Source: 2014 Pennsylvania House campaign website, VoteBoyle.com
Oct 10, 2014
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
Doug Mastriano:
Proposes allowing off-label drugs to treat COVID-19
Mastriano has introduced legislation to make it easier for state residents to obtain combinations of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as well as ivermectin. "Despite a record of success, it is increasingly difficult for a patient in
Pennsylvania to obtain these early treatment drugs following prescription from a provider," Mastriano wrote in his legislative memorandum. While Mastriano cites studies supporting the bill, the jury is still out on the drugs' effectiveness.
Source: The Times Observer on 2022 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race
Mar 1, 2022
Doug Mastriano:
Compared state COVID mandates to communist East Germany
Mastriano held an anti-vaccine rally for so-called medical freedom. The role and reach of government authority continues to be a top debate in
Pennsylvania and across the country, and Mastriano encouraged his supporters to fight against that authority. Mastriano compared Pennsylvania to communist East Germany.
Source: Go Erie on 2022 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race
Nov 9, 2021
Doug Mastriano:
Immediate ban on all COVID-19 vaccine mandates
RESTORE FREEDOM: RETURN TO NORMALCY- Reject unconstitutional edicts by Biden Administration and the CDC
- Elimination of all pandemic executive orders and edicts from the Wolf Administration
- Immediate ban on government and school mask mandates
- Immediate ban on all COVID-19 vaccine mandates
- Expansion of access to off-label early treatment drugs for COVID
- Immediate review of all hospital polices related to in-patient COVID treatment
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Governor campaign website doug4gov.com
May 18, 2022
Ed Rendell:
Will not reduce Medical Assistance coverage
I will not reduce the number of Pennsylvanians who receive health care coverage through state Medical Assistance. Our budget makes use of a number of non-recurring revenue adjustments, not to the degree that some have suggested, but as far as the limits
of prudent budgeting will allow. We use these revenue sources now because we must - the simple fact is that without these adjustments we would have been forced to cut tens of thousands of our most vulnerable citizens from Medical Assistance.
Source: Budget Address to Pennsylvania General Assembly
Mar 4, 2003
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
Ken Krawchuk:
Oppose ObamaCare
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Expand ObamaCare"?
A: Oppose. Obamacare quadrupled my medical insurance premium in two years while dramatically reducing my choices. (Not a state issue)
Source: OnTheIssues interview: 2018 Pennsylvania Governor candidate
May 18, 2018
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
Josh Shapiro:
Brokered deal between insurance companies to expand coverage
Mr. Shapiro's opening speech aimed to frame his candidacy as a fight against the powerful on behalf of the people--like he did as attorney general against the two companies atop some of the skyline's biggest buildings, he said. He was referring to his
role in hashing out an agreement between health care giant UPMC and its longtime rival, Highmark, that resulted in a decade-long pact giving many Highmark insurance members in-network access to UPMC doctors.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on 2022 Pennsylvania Governor race
Oct 13, 2021
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
Lou Barletta:
Protected volunteer firefighters from ObamaCare
Named "Legislator of the Year" by the National Volunteer Fire Council for protecting volunteer fire companies from ObamaCare regulations, costs and penalties that would have crippled them. In Pennsylvania, 97 percent of all fire companies depend either
entirely or mostly on volunteers. ObamaCare's threat to volunteer fire companies represented an unacceptable threat to public safety, and the House agreed by passing Lou's Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act.
Source: 2018 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial website LouBarletta.com
Malcolm Kenyatta:
Healthcare is not a privilege but a right
Healthcare is not a privilege but a right. Every Pennsylvanian deserves the right to have a healthcare plan that meets their needs: whether it be the treatment of a preexisting condition or in the unfortunate event of a health emergency.
Pennsylvanians also should not be forced into deciding on having to spend their money on food or to buy their prescription medication, as so many folks are forced to do.
Source: 2021 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website MalcolmForPA.com
Mar 4, 2021
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
Rick Saccone:
Free-market principles instead of ObamaCare
Under ObamaCare, health insurance has become unaffordable.
Rick Saccone will utilize free-market principles to fix our healthcare crisis.
Source: 2018 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website RickSaccone.com
Feb 3, 2018
Scott Wagner:
Roll back Medicaid expansion and repeal Obamacare
Today we'll look at how Scott Wagner as governor would roll back health care coverage for Pennsylvanians.BACKGROUND:- "We should roll back Medicaid expansion." [Scott Wagner, 3/6/18]
- "The Medicaid expansion authorized under the 2010 law
extended health coverage to about 700,000 low-income Pennsylvanians, including the aged and the disabled." [PennLive, 3/21/17]
- "I very much want to see Obamacare get repealed." [Scott Wagner, 3/20/17]
Source: PADems.com press release on 2018 Pennsylvania Governor race
May 8, 2018
Scott Wagner:
Repeal ObamaCare; add work requirement for Medicaid
Q: Support or Repeal ACA, aka ObamaCare? Accept ACA's Medicaid expansion to subsidize low-income participants?Scott Wagner (R): Repeal. Would repeal ACA & roll back Medicaid expansion.
Tom Wolf (D): Support & expand ACA. Expanding healthcare is
good for the economy & creates jobs. Accepted Medicaid expansion for PA.
Q: Require people to work to receive Medicaid?
Wagner: Yes. Will incentivize people to work & get healthcare from their employers.
Wolf: No. Vetoed a work requirement bill.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide: Pennsylvania Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
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
Shiva Ayyadurai:
Coronavirus: diet & vitamins better defense than masks
Shiva Ayyadurai says the cloth and surgical masks most of us wear are too porous to stop the virus. He says we'd be better off strengthening our immune systems with good diets, time outside (for vitamin D), and,
if necessary, vitamins. In a video, Ayyadurai also said that masks are antisocial and hamper relationships that strengthen
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer on 2020 Pennsylvania Senate race
Jun 23, 2020
Tom Wolf:
Expanding health care is good for economy & creates jobs
One of the fundamental topics that have often gone missing from the current health care debates in Harrisburg is job growth. As indecision and inaction have dominated discussions, the Corbett administration has ignored the fact that implementation of
the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of the state's Medicaid program provides an unprecedented opportunity to give more than 500,000 currently uninsured, middle and low-income Pennsylvanians access to affordable health care.
Expanding health care to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians and their families is not just the right thing to do; it's good for the economy and will create jobs.
So, Medicaid expansion would do much more than give many Pennsylvanians an opportunity to gain health insurance coverage: It will provide a much needed economic stimulus to the state.
Source: 2014 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial campaign website, WolfForPA
Sep 1, 2014
Tom Wolf:
Scrap "Healthy PA" subsidizing private insurance coverage
All four Democratic candidates would scrap Gov. Tom Corbett's "Healthy PA" plan that subsidizes private insurance coverage and instead expand Medicaid coverage under the 2010 federal health care law.
They would also set up a Pennsylvania-run insurance exchange rather than the federally run insurance exchange Corbett chose.
Source: The Patriot News on 2014 Pennsylvania governor debate
May 10, 2014
Tom Wolf:
Expand ObamaCare; no work requirement for Medicaid
Q: Support or Repeal ACA, aka ObamaCare? Accept ACA's Medicaid expansion to subsidize low-income participants?Scott Wagner (R): Repeal. Would repeal ACA & roll back Medicaid expansion.
Tom Wolf (D): Support & expand ACA. Expanding healthcare is
good for the economy & creates jobs. Accepted Medicaid expansion for PA.
Q: Require people to work to receive Medicaid?
Wagner: Yes. Will incentivize people to work & get healthcare from their employers.
Wolf: No. Vetoed a work requirement bill.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide: Pennsylvania Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Val Arkoosh:
Led national physician's coalition for reform
Val came to find that so often, the issues most impacting her patients were things happening outside the exam room. These tragedies motivated Val to take action, and she pursued her Master of Public Health and soon became a vocal advocate
for comprehensive healthcare reform at the national level. During the fight for the Affordable Care Act, Val led a national nonprofit organization of physicians who joined a broad-based coalition for reform.
Source: Emily's List 2022 Pennsylvania Senate endorsements
Jul 25, 2021
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
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023