Category: Health Care

While both Kevin Cramer and Heidi Heitkamp want to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, Heitkamp-backed Obamacare is wrong for North Dakota, and it hurts our small businesses and farmers.

Heitkamp’s lies on health care have been repeatedly fact-checked, but she has not stopped peddling misinformation.

Over the last ten years Heidi Heitkamp has taken more positions on Obamacare than anyone can count:

• As a liberal activist, Heitkamp aggressively pushed for Obamacare to pass, but as a 2012 Senate candidate, Heitkamp instantly became critical of the law.

  • When Politico detailed this flip-flop, Heitkamp could not refute it.

• Throughout her time in the Senate, Heitkamp has staunchly defended Obamacare.

  • Heitkamp voted 8 times against repealing Obamacare (March 2013 [three times], May 2015, July 2015, December 2015, and July 2017 [twice])

  • Heitkamp voted twice in support of the individual mandate, voted against repealing Obamacare tax, and voted in favor of the medical device tax after she took donations from the medical supplies industry.

Heitkamp’s health care law is out-of-touch with what’s best for North Dakota, and it hurts our state.

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After Heidi Heitkamp tried and failed to exploit farmers, veterans, and those with pre-existing conditions for her own political gain, she is now trying to use seniors.

But the facts don’t support her argument:

• The Washington Post said Democrat claims that Republicans want to “get rid of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security” are FALSE.

• Kevin Cramer is trying to save Social Security and Medicare as they’re set to go solvent in a just a few years.

• Heidi Heitkamp’s only solution is to raise taxes on North Dakotans.

• Kevin Cramer pledged to not affect the benefits of anyone 55 or over.

Her efforts to exploit North Dakotans haven’t worked before, and this new, last-minute attack won’t work either.

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Heidi Heitkamp is out with a new ad attacking Kevin Cramer on pre-existing conditions, something her campaign called “a winning issue for us.”

LET’S BE CLEAR: Unlike Heidi Heitkamp’s campaign, Kevin Cramer doesn’t care about whether something is “a winning issue” politically. He cares about what will actually help the people of North Dakota, and that is not Obamacare.

Obamacare has created higher premiums and fewer choices for North Dakotans while shifting the burden of cost onto small businesses and farmers. While both candidates support protecting pre-existing conditions, only Heidi Heitkamp supports a law that hurts her state.

“This is the same ineffective line of attack Heitkamp has been launching for months. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “Lying about Cramer’s health care plan will work about as well as outing victims of sexual assault without their consent.”

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While both Kevin Cramer and Heidi Heitkamp want to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, Heitkamp-backed Obamacare is wrong for North Dakota, and it hurts our small businesses and farmers.

Heitkamp’s lies on health care have been repeatedly fact-checked, but she has not stopped peddling misinformation.

Over the last ten years Heidi Heitkamp has taken more positions on Obamacare than anyone can count:

• As a liberal activist, Heitkamp aggressively pushed for Obamacare to pass, but as a 2012 Senate candidate, Heitkamp instantly became critical of the law.
  • When Politico detailed this flip-flop, Heitkamp could not refute it.
• Throughout her time in the Senate, Heitkamp has staunchly defended Obamacare.
  • Heitkamp voted 8 times against repealing Obamacare (March 2013 [three times], May 2015, July 2015, December 2015, and July 2017 [twice])
  • Heitkamp voted twice in support of the individual mandate, voted against repealing Obamacare tax, and voted in favor of the medical device tax after she took donations from the medical supplies industry.

Heitkamp’s health care law is out-of-touch with what’s best for North Dakota, and it hurts our state.

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Hey everyone—

Yesterday Kevin Cramer’s campaign called on Heidi Heitkamp to pull her misleading ad from the airwaves.

Unsurprisingly, Heitkamp’s campaign declined to do the right thing and has since doubled down on their desperate spin. Anchor Chris Berg said it best: “They are now continuing to perpetuate false and misleading information to you, the North Dakota voter.” Click here to check out his full segment. 

Background

In this recent ad, Heitkamp claimed having a pre-existing condition “used to mean no health insurance.” That is not true, and public officials, PolitiFact, and the Associated Press have said so.

Stretching the truth is nothing new for Senator Heitkamp. Her team previously tried and failed to claim Cramer was lying about travel reimbursements. They’ve also worked to rewrite her record on immigration by claiming she’s always supported a border wall, even though she’s voted against it, spoken out against it, and campaigned against it.   

Given these constant fabrications and purposeful distortions of the truth, North Dakota voters have to wonder if they can trust anything Senator Heitkamp says at all.

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Hey everyone—

I spoke too soon. Heidi Heitkamp’s Friday keeps getting worse and worse.

In her recent, misleading ad, Heitkamp states: “Like 300,000 North Dakotans, Denise has a pre-existing condition. That used to mean no health insurance.”

Welp, turns out that is wrong, and the Associated Pressjust called Heitkamp out for it, saying she “overstates the number who wouldn’t have been able to get health insurance.” Heitkamp and her campaign is now trying to walk back the ad, but with such a gross misuse of information, one has to wonder if North Dakotans can trust anything she says.

“Heidi Heitkamp’s campaign is nothing more than misleading statistics and over-the-top rhetoric,” said North Dakota Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “As many have noted, Heitkamp’s campaign is centered around making voters feel fearful, and it’s clear she’ll say anything, no matter how false, to try and make that happen.”

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Bismarck, ND– Republican leaders today gathered at the Bismarck Farm Bureau location to dispute Democrats’ false claims and to reaffirm their position regarding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pre-existing conditions. Despite repeated fear-mongering attacks from Democrats, Republican leaders made it clear they have always supported the inclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions in healthcare reform and that the current state of healthcare does not benefit North Dakotans.

Congressman Kevin Cramer, Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread and State Senator Kelly Armstrong all spoke in support of keeping pre-existing conditions available but reiterated that Obamacare is failing North Dakotans.

Before Obamacare, 8 to 10 percent of North Dakotans were uninsured. Today, that number remains relatively unchanged at 8 percent demonstrating how Obamacare has failed in the state. While more individuals may be covered under Medicaid, the rising costs of healthcare, which have doubled in four years, have only made it more difficult for those who do not qualify for Medicaid to afford insurance, including farmers, ranchers and small business owners.

The participants of today’s press conference issued the following joint statement:

“Democrats continue to push a big lie and we can’t stand for it. The only group talking about eliminating coverage for pre-existing conditions are the Democrats. There is no denying, the current state of healthcare needs fixing, and every Republican proposal that has been advanced has included guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions. We need a system that covers all North Dakotans, and that doesn’t shift the burden of rising premiums to our farmers, ranchers and small business owners.”

Speaking in support of Republicans were two North Dakota farmers and one small business owner. Tom Christensen of Verona and Weston Dvorak of Manning are both farmers and Marv Miller owns Twin City Roofing in Mandan. They all shared their stories or how rising premiums due to Obamacare has made it difficult for them to afford insurance for their families or employees.   

Republicans pointed out the fact that the Comprehensive Health Association of North Dakota (CHAND) has always – and will continue to cover high risk North Dakotan’s. Additionally, under Graham Cassidy the state will not only receive more money to fund the high-risk population, but providers will have more flexibility in how they deliver healthcare.

Leaders also reiterated that Obamacare is unconstitutional, and that North Dakota will continue to participate in the federal lawsuit challenging that fact.

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Hey everyone–

Heidi Heitkamp is out with a new ad falsely attacking Kevin Cramer on pre-existing conditions. Like Heitkamp, Cramer has consistently supportedprotecting coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. During efforts to repeal Obamacare, he voted for the MacArthur amendment, which explicitly states under no circumstances can people be denied coverage because of a pre-existing conditions.

But unlike Heitkamp, Cramer knows we need to reform our nation’s broken health care system. Under Obamacare, which Heitkamp has repeatedly supported, North Dakotans have seen:

•     Costs skyrocket, with premiums increasing by 44%
•     Medicare funding gutted
•     Entire countieswith zero health care providers

REMINDER: Heidi Heitkamp’s political posturing on health care is nothing new. Despite feigning dissatisfaction with the disastrous law before the 2012 election, Heitkamp has been a diehard supporter of Obamacare, voting for it every chance she’s had while in Washington. This health care debate is just another example of why North Dakotans can’t trust Heidi with six more years in the Senate.

“Heidi Heitkamp’s repeated lies about Cramer’s stance on pre-existing conditions won’t work,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “Heitkamp’s support for Obamacare has saddled North Dakotans with higher costs, worse care, and fewer options; and voters will remember that in November.”

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Hey everyone—

Support for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s decision to join a lawsuit challenging Obamacare continues to grow as Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread announced yesterday his endorsement of the action.

Commissioner Godfread knows Obamacare is not only unconstitutional, but simply bad for North Dakota. In supporting this lawsuit, Commissioner Godfread is standing with our farmers, ranchers, and small businesses who desperately need relief from the burdensome effects of this disastrous legislation.

In case you missed it…

N.D. insurance commissioner backs attorney general in ACA lawsuit

Jack Dura | Bismarck Tribune

8.9.18

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread says he supports Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s entry into a Texas federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

In a letter on Tuesday, North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party called for Stenehjem to withdraw from the 20-state lawsuit, citing consequences for the state’s Medicaid expansion and state residents afforded protections by the federal health care law. Godfread said his department has filed an affidavit in the case, outlining issues he sees in North Dakota.

“In short order, we are extremely supportive of the attorney general continuing this lawsuit and have assisted him along the way,” he told the Tribune.

Godfread invoked the group of residents in North Dakota — largely small business owners, farmers and ranchers — who don’t qualify for an individual market subsidy as having “taken the brunt of the impact of the ACA.”

North Dakota had “a robust marketplace” before the ACA, with options for residents with pre-existing conditions, according to Godfread. He said about the same percentage of state residents are uninsured as before the ACA became law — 8 percent to 10 percent — amid a larger state population.

“I will argue until I am blue in the face that, prior to the ACA, we didn’t have the problems that the ACA sought to fix,” he said, pointing to new problems, including cost increases.

Godfread’s department is underway in a study with an outside firm to find any flexibility in the state’s insurance market, with findings to come this fall. His department is also exploring what changes might need to be made on the state level should the Texas suit prevail but “we’re years away from a decision on this case,” Godfread said.

He also leveled criticism at state Democrats in their figure of 316,000 North Dakota residents with pre-existing conditions who “would lose the critical ACA safeguards which grant them access to affordable health care insurance coverage.” Godfread called that figure “downright irresponsible.”

“To stand there and say that roughly just under half of our citizens are at risk if this lawsuit’s successful is factually inaccurate, and I don’t know where they got that number,” the first-term Republican said.

Democratic-NPL spokesman Alex Rich said the party sourced the number of North Dakota residents with pre-existing conditions from the Center for American Progress.

Godfread said 84 percent of North Dakota residents receive health insurance coverage through employers or a government program, such as Medicaid or Medicare.

The state Republican Party also bit back at the Democratic-NPL letter. NDGOP spokesman Jake Wilkins called the ACA “an election issue” that Democrats see “they can exploit.”

“As the liberal left continues to play politics by promoting this harmful legislation, Republicans will focus on pushing health care solutions for North Dakotans that will lower premiums, expand available options and protect those with pre-existing conditions,” he said in a statement.

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Hey everyone–

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is leading the fight against Obamacare for North Dakotans, joining 20 other states in asking the courts to declare this disastrous law unconstitutional.

Republicans and Democrats agree that preexisting conditions need to be covered. Unfortunately, Democrats in North Dakota have decided to double down on this law, demanding the Attorney General drop the lawsuit just because they themselves support the law. Our Attorney General Stenehjem quickly fired back, reminding them he took an oath “to defend the Constitution of the United States and this statute is unconstitutional.”

Looking beyond its unconstitutionality, Obamacare has been a disaster for North Dakota. As Attorney General Stenehjem notes, “Obamacare has brought fewer options and at a much higher price, with many North Dakotans being priced out of the market.”

“Democrats see Obamacare as an election issue they can exploit,” said North Dakota Republican Party spokesman Jake Wilkins. “As the liberal left continues to play politics by promoting this harmful legislation, Republicans will focus on pushing healthcare solutions for North Dakotans that will lower premiums, expand available options, and protect those with preexisting conditions.”

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