Past and present Senate candidates from Georgia: on Health Care
Jim Barksdale:
ObamaCare isn't perfect, but it's a good step
Jim knows the Affordable Care Act is not perfect, but he believes it was a good step toward providing all of our citizens the freedom to get sick without the threat of bankruptcy. While the Washington crowd has focused on repealing health care--
returning us back to the days where insurance companies could terminate your coverage if it got too expensive, a pre-existing condition meant being forced to stay at a job just to maintain some health coverage, and women had to pay much more for
their insurance--Jim would focus on making the Affordable Care Act work better.Jim believes it's outrageous that people in other countries can buy the same prescription drugs for less than we can in the United States, and wants to see
Medicare be able to negotiate lower prescription drug prices in order to cut costs without reducing quality for our seniors. And 10% of Medicare coverage spending goes towards "improper payments," or charges that have no purpose.
Source: 2016 Georgia Senate campaign website JimBarksdale.com
Aug 8, 2016
Derrick Grayson:
Repeal ObamaCare and replace it with nothing
- Freedom cannot be sub-divided
- Gov't should stay out of our bedrooms
- Protect life & no tax dollars for abortions
- Protect all individual privacy
-
Preserve a tax free internet
- Defend private property rights
- Repeal ObamaCare and replace it with nothing
Source: 2016 Georgia Senate campaign website, grayson2016.com
Oct 9, 2015
Pat Roberts:
Ebola: suspend air travel between the U.S. and West Africa
During the rest of the hour-long debate, the moderators quizzed the candidates about their positions on issues ranging from farm policy to the Ebola outbreak to immigration.
In a rare moment of agreement, both candidates said they would suspend air travel between the U.S. and West Africa as a way to stop more Ebola cases from coming to the U.S.
But Orman accused Roberts of "inappropriate" tough talk against Ebola because he skipped a hearing on the crisis when he was in
Washington last month. "The hearing was held out session," Roberts said. "Nothing of substance came of it."
Source: CBS News on 2014 Georgia Senate debate
Oct 15, 2014
Amanda Swafford:
Dramatically strengthen Health Savings Accounts
We can also bring more individuals back into the healthcare industry by deregulating physician's assistants and nurses. Not every ailment requires a visit to the doctor when it can be easily diagnosed and treated by trained and qualified professionals.
Alternative healthcare options, including medicinal marijuana, should also be allowed equal entry to the market. This gives the individual more power and responsibility for making healthcare decisions.
We should also dramatically strengthen Health Savings Accounts. Incentives for healthcare under the current tax code should not depend on meeting special gross income thresholds engineered by Congress.
And the FDA should be audited and possibly replaced with voluntary, free market groups made up of both industry and consumer driven organizations to monitor, protect and research what is actually demanded by those utilizing the goods & services produced.
Source: 2014 Georgia Senate campaign website, AmandaSwafford.net
Sep 30, 2014
Amanda Swafford:
Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Swafford: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Swafford: Strongly Agree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Sep 30, 2014
David Perdue:
Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Perdue: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Perdue: Strongly Agree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Sep 30, 2014
Rick Allen:
No government responsibility to ensure healthcare
Q: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income?Allen: Strongly Disagree
Q: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress?
Allen: Strongly Agree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Sep 30, 2014
Paul Broun:
Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Broun: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Broun: Strongly Agree
Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.
Broun: As a family physician for four decades, I know firsthand that ObamaCare fundamentally changes the American healthcare system as we know it.
As Georgia's next U.S. Senator, I will strongly advocate repealing ObamaCare in full and replacing it with patient-centered, market-based solutions, such as my Patient OPTION Act.
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Michelle Nunn:
ObamaCare would have been better if bipartisan
Georgia Democrat Michelle Nunn refused to say how she would have voted on ObamaCare, dodging a major issue in her Senate campaign: "At the time the Affordable Health Care Act was passed, I was working for Points of Light.
I wished that we had more people who had tried to architect a bipartisan legislation," she said when asked how she would have voted in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
After MSNBC followed up to ask if she would have voted yes or no, Nunn dodged again: "I think it's impossible to look back retrospectively and say what would you have done if you were there," she said.
Nunn has been running to the center in conservative-leaning Georgia. She's likely to be pressed on the issue going forward.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2014 Georgia Senate race
May 19, 2014
David Perdue:
Responsible thing to do: fix ObamaCare; don't repeal it
A spokesman for Perdue's campaign said that there was no conflict in Perdue's previous support for the idea of a federal health care law and his current opposition to ObamaCare. "David supports the full repeal of ObamaCare," the spokesman said. "However,
he along with many other Republicans recognize that there are issues that must be addressed at the federal level. For example, Georgia Congressman Dr. Tom Price has a great patient-centered alternative to replace ObamaCare."Rep. Jack Kingston drew
criticism from conservatives after he said Republicans should improve, rather than repeal, the Affordable Care Act: "A lot of conservatives say, 'Nah, let's just step back and let this thing fall to pieces on its own.' But I don't think that's always the
responsible thing to do," Kingston said. "I think we need to be looking for things that improve health care overall for all of us. And if there is something in ObamaCare, we need to know about it." Kingston later said his comments had been misinterpreted
Source: Huffington Post on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Mar 10, 2014
Karen Handel:
ObamaCare overreaches, but feds should address healthcare
A candidate who has called for a "full repeal" of the Affordable Care Act--characterizing it as an "overreaching federal program"--once argued in favor of a federal health care solution. David Perdue spoke of the need for a federal solution to the
nation's high uninsured rate in 2006 at a meeting of the Retail Industry Leaders Association: "It's a tragedy that so many people are uninsured," Perdue said, adding that he did not want the issue left to the states: "It needs to be addressed at the
federal level."A spokesman for Perdue's campaign said that there was no conflict in Perdue's previous support for the idea of a federal health care law and his current opposition to ObamaCare. "David supports the full repeal of ObamaCare,"
the spokesman said. "However, he along with many other Republicans recognize that there are issues that must be addressed at the federal level. For example, Georgia Congressman Dr. Tom Price has a great patient-centered alternative to replace ObamaCare."
Source: Huffington Post on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Mar 10, 2014
Karen Handel:
ObamaCare canceled my wife's policy & doubled premiums
Perdue has been critical of the health care law throughout his Senate bid. The candidate's website calls it "an overreaching federal program that will actually reduce the quality of health care and increase costs."
In January, Perdue wrote in a blog post that he and his wife's health insurance was canceled and their insurance premium doubled because of the Affordable Care Act.
"We did not have a 'substandard' plan with a second rate company," Perdue wrote. "We had done our research and picked a plan that met our needs.
However, our federal government, in its infinite wisdom, decided that we grandparents needed maternity coverage among other things."
Source: Huffington Post on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Mar 10, 2014
Michelle Nunn:
Add a tier of affordable coverage to ObamaCare
Q. How hard is it to run on ObamaCare?A: I am running as someone who ran an organization and understands the responsibilities and the difficulties of providing health care for employees. I also believe that we need to fix what's broken and there
are clearly some things that have not worked well in the Affordable Care Act rollout. Some ideas include adding a tier of coverage for more affordability for families, ensuring that we extend the tax credit for small businesses.
Here in Georgia--because we did not accept Medicaid expansion--a number of our rural hospitals are now having cuts that are really problematic. So I am running as someone who wants to fix the things that are broken in the health care system and build
upon the things that are good, including ensuring that people who have preexisting conditions have access to health care, that kids up to age 26 have the opportunity to be covered by their parents.
Source: Time Magazine interview on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Mar 6, 2014
Karen Handel:
Embrace threat of federal shutdown to defund ObamaCare
Nearly every Republican candidate running for Senate in 2014 backs the GOP's push to use the threat of a government shutdown to defund ObamaCare--a sign of how popular they believe the plan is with conservative primary voters. Those supporting the GOP
strategy include North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R), the GOP frontrunner to face Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who said he supported the GOP's brinkmanship because ObamaCare is a "mortal threat to our economy."Others to embrace the plan include
former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel (R), former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R), who is the likely Republican nominee to run for retiring Sen. Carl Levin's (R-Mich.) seat, and Alaska Tea Party candidate Joe Miller (R).
GOP operatives say there's little downside for candidates to embrace the "defund" movement--especially those who are facing primary opponents. For Senate candidates who aren't already in Congress, especially, there's little political danger.
Source: The Hill on 2014 Georgia Senate debate
Sep 22, 2013
Jim Martin:
All children must have access to health care
There are lots of different approaches to universal health care in this country and the next Congress is going to have to deal with that problem. I believe that all children must have access to health care. At the federal level, we need to negotiate with
drug companies about the price of drugs we provide to senior citizens under Medicare. That has been specifically prohibited by the United States Congress and it’s cost taxpayers over 10 billion dollars every year.
Source: Georgia 2008 Democratic Senate Primary Debate
Jun 30, 2008
Jim Martin:
Part of team that created the PeachCare Act
VERNON JONES: Jim Martin and I were part of the team that created the PeachCare Act. We provided children with health insurance.
We provided pre-dental care to children who were afraid to smile because their teeth were in disarray. I have a record of helping young children getting health care.
Source: Georgia 2008 Democratic Senate Primary Debate
Jun 30, 2008
Vernon Jones:
Part of team that created the PeachCare Act
Jim Martin and I were part of the team that created the PeachCare Act. We provided children with health insurance.
We provided pre-dental care to children who were afraid to smile because their teeth were in disarray. I have a record of helping young children getting health care.
Source: Georgia 2008 Democratic Senate Primary Debate
Jun 30, 2008
Page last updated: Feb 22, 2019