Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor, Dr. Amy Acton. (Photo: Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Democratic candidate for Ohio governor Dr. Amy Acton said Tuesday that if elected, she would implement a whole-of-government approach to dealing with rising health care costs.
She also called out Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy over past comments about health care programs.
Rising costs, decreasing range
A physician and former director of the state health department said, “Everywhere I go, people talk about the cost of everyday life. Ninety-five percent of what I hear is not controversial at all.”
Housing, child care, electric bills and property taxes – Acton heard voters complain about it all.
“But the biggest thing I’m hearing about, and what the data is showing right now, is the rising health care costs are really putting people on edge,” she said.
After health care subsidies expired in Ohio, enrollment is plummeting
As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, signed by President Trump last summer, people seeking health insurance in markets covered by the Affordable Care Act stopped receiving increased premium subsidies.
At the end of open enrollment last month, Ohio saw a 20% decline in Marketplace enrollment.
Percentage, – noted the Ohio Academy of Family Physiciansthis was the second largest decline in the country.
“Think about it for a moment,” Acton said. “We know that people are simply saying that I have to go without health care to pay the rising costs of housing, electricity bills and child care. They are simply going without insurance, and entire families are living without it. This is a serious problem.”
But Acton acknowledged there are limits to what she or any state leader can do to fill the gap.
She cited Medicaid exemptions or tax breaks for people caring for loved ones as two examples.
“We will be looking at various measures that the governor can pursue,” Acton said, “but it will be necessary to work with our federal government.”
“There’s a lot that can be done right now about doctor bankruptcies and prescription drug costs,” said David Pepper, Acton’s running mate.
“There’s no way to solve all of this,” he continued, “but trying to make premiums maybe a little more affordable so that 20% doesn’t go down – it’s happening everywhere. It’s just not happening in Ohio.”
Mistakes were made
Acton and Pepper also criticized Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for calling Medicare and Medicaid a mistake.
During an October 2024 appearance on Ezra Klein’s podcast, he argued that there are competing visions within the Republican Party about what “America First” actually means.
On the one hand, he said, are those who want to utilize government power to protect or advance American economic interests, and on the other – which Ramaswamy agrees – are Republicans who see the project as “dismantling the existence of the nanny state in all its forms.”
In response, Klein asked Ramaswamy point-blank if he thought Medicare and Medicaid were mistakes.
“In hindsight, I think it was,” Ramaswamy said. “Especially Medicaid, especially the welfare state with no required work permits.”
More than 3 million Ohioans, or about a quarter of the state’s population, are covered by Medicaid, according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Of this population, 72% of those registered are already working.
Two and a half million Ohioans are covered by the Medicare program, which primarily covers older adults, but there is some overlap between the two programs.
About 400,000 Ohioans on Medicare receive assistance through Medicaid.
Jan Lanier, a registered nurse from Westerville, spoke at Acton’s event about her family’s experience with Medicaid.
Lanier explained that her youngest granddaughter was born prematurely and suffers from severe disabilities.
Lanier’s daughter had a job and insurance, but she lost both because she had to care for the child.
“This experience introduced us all to the world of Medicaid, waivers and waiting lists,” Lanier explained.
Her granddaughter is 23 and still lives with her daughter, and Medicaid covers caregiver costs and medical supplies.
“I don’t expect people running for office to be able to understand all of the programs and services they deal with,” Lanier said.
“But I expect them to listen and do their best to learn before dismissively dismissing something that is the backbone of Ohio’s health care system as a ‘mistake.’
Ramaswamy’s reply
In an emailed statement, Ramaswamy campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck said Acton’s “far-left approach will raise health care costs and everyday spending for all Ohioans while stifling take-home pay and economic growth. By contrast, Vivek’s vision for Ohio focuses on real reforms that deliver lower costs and larger payouts, not empty promises and government takeovers.”
As for Ramaswamy’s “error” comment, Luck accused Acton of cherry-picking audio snippets and called the attacks “grossly unfair.”
Luck said Medicaid is an “essential program” but insisted it would work better for recipients and taxpayers.
“Vivek believes that Ohioans deserve a Medicaid system that delivers better outcomes than we have seen over the last six decades, including basic work requirements for able-bodied people,” Luck said. “This position is not extreme, it is common sense.”
President Trump’s signed domestic policy bill includes provisions on national work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries.
Starting next year, applicants across the country will have to start reporting their employment status at least every six months.
This change will have a major impact on financial results.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that work requirements alone will reduce Medicaid spending by $326 billion over the next decade, but these savings come at a cost.
Analyzing an earlier version of the bill, CBO forecasters suggested a departure from this policy By 2034, 4.8 million Americans will be uninsured.
AND CBO report for 2022 found that state-level work requirements cost thousands of workers to cover them “and appear to have little impact on employment.”
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