Healthcare and the 2024 election

Except for their positions on reproductive rights, there has been limited media attention on where candidates stand on healthcare issues. Yet, what candidates plan to do to address challenges such as access to health insurance and quality, affordable treatment, and prescription drugs should be one of the factors voters consider in November. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance recognizes that cancer is more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage and more likely to be fatal among those without health insurance. As such, advocating for improved access to health insurance is part of our mission.

President Biden has issued documents outlining the steps taken relative to healthcare and what additional action the president would pursue if given a second term. The presumptive nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, is likely to mirror Biden's policy positions closely. A summary of the president’s positions is available on the White House fact sheet.

Former President Trump has confirmed he will seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), but beyond that, he has not provided details of what a Trump administration would seek as a replacement. Healthcare is not addressed in the Republican platform beyond a statement not to cut Medicare and is silent on Medicaid. The last actual healthcare reform legislation endorsed by then-President Trump was the American Health Care Act of 2017 (Trumpcare), which passed the House but failed in the Senate. Whether this bill's components still represent former President Trump's positions is unknown, but no other details have been provided. Some of the key provisions of Trumpcare included:

• Eliminating employer and individual mandates and related penalties, substituting a one-time premium increase of 30% for persons who were without coverage previously for a specified period (63 days).
• Changing tax credit/subsidy formulas used to help pay for insurance premiums and eliminating a "cost-sharing subsidy" that reduced out-of-pocket costs.
• Reducing the income ceiling used for Medicaid eligibility and substituting a tax credit for those below 100% of the poverty line.
• Reducing Medicaid payments relative to current law, by capping the growth in per-enrollee payments for non-disabled children and non-disabled adults, by using a lower inflation index.
• Repealing taxes on high-income earners established under ACA/Obamacare.
• Allowing insurers to charge premiums up to five times as much to older people versus young people, instead of three times, unless the state sets a different limit.
• Removing the federal cap on the share of premiums that may go to insurers' administrative costs and profits.

Regardless of which candidate becomes president, any major healthcare reform will require congressional legislation, so voters must know where their candidate for the House of Representatives and Senate (if applicable this term) stands on the issue.

We strongly encourage voters to contact the candidates in both parties and request information on their plans to improve access to healthcare and lower costs. Here you should ask for specifics — every candidate will say they’ll make healthcare better — but how?

Voters should consider a host of issues when deciding who to support in 2024, but we believe healthcare should be one of them. America is the richest country in the history of the planet, yet 25.6 million Americans lack health insurance, and 30% of Americans report not taking their prescription medication because they can’t afford it. These sad facts will not change unless our leaders act.