Healthcare reform, once a central issue in elections, has taken a back seat in this year's presidential race, The New York Times reported Sept. 13.
While both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have touched on high drug prices and Ms. Harris has made reproductive rights a key issue, neither candidate has focused on healthcare insurance reforms in speeches, ads or detailed plans on their websites. During the Sept. 10 presidential debate, the ACA came up as the second-to-last question of the night.
"This is the first election in maybe decades where health reform has not been a central issue," Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health reform at KFF, told the Times.
Policymakers from both parties are perplexed by the lack of focus on healthcare reform, as Republicans grapple with rising costs of federal insurance programs and Democrats worry about the looming expiration of ACA insurance subsidies that could raise premiums for millions of Americans, according to the report.
"The fact that both parties have decided we're not going to tackle the health entitlement crisis is really odd," Brian Blase, PhD, president of the Paragon Health Institute, a right-leaning think tank, told the Times. Dr. Blase was also a member of the White House National Economic Council during Mr. Trump's presidency.
What explains the diminished focus on healthcare reform? For one, the healthcare landscape is more stable than in previous years. The ACA markets have settled, the uninsured rate is near a record low, and although healthcare spending remains high, its growth rate has slowed, according to the Times. As a result, voters have shifted their concerns to issues such as immigration and the cost of living. Candidates may also be reluctant to push for major healthcare reforms, fearing voter backlash.
The Times noted that the candidates' minimal focus on healthcare during the campaign does not necessarily indicate the direction of their future policy plans.
"That means the health care stakes could still be large, even if the conversation is smaller," the publication wrote.
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