Election roundup: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and others traded barbs about healthcare at the RNC and DNC
Healthcare was among the hottest issues at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this year.
Violence between citizens and police was, perhaps, the most contentious topic, edging out strategies for beating ISIS, creating new jobs, reforming education, immigration and gun laws.
Indeed, the speakers fired sharp criticisms and, at times, bold insults concerning healthcare.
Trump, for instance, called Obamacare disastrous and vowed to repeal it; Clinton said she intends to build on the Affordable Care Act and fight to control costs of care and medications, protect Roe v. Wade, enact paid family medical leave and reform gun laws, which Democrats consider to be an immediate public health crisis.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence has a unique claim to healthcare fame: He is the only person on this planet or any other to vote against the Affordable Care Act as a U.S. Representative and then accept federal funding under the same law to expand Medicaid as governor of Indiana. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, is a proponent of the ACA and telehalth, which he used to enable caregivers to reach patients in rural Virginia.
And then there were the other speakers. Paul Ryan called Obamacare ‘a shady power play’ and Ben Carson surprised plenty of people by suggesting Clinton sees Lucifer as something of a role model.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, himself a past presidential candidate, attacked Trump by saying he has no ideas about replacing Obamacare after repealing it and that what he has said amounts to “something so much better. Huge, no doubt.”
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, picked up that torch and said he is ready to pass the baton to Clinton because she has a history of public service and real plans to continue improving healthcare.
Reality dose: Despite the rhetoric, slights and jabs, when both conventions were said and done neither Clinton nor Trump really laid down much in the way of substantive detail about their plans for healthcare if elected in November.
Twitter: SullyHIT
Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com
