Apr 29 2014
Democrats worry that talking about the health law will not net them any positive gains in elections this year. House Speaker John Boehner also took to the air Saturday to hammer President Obama on jobs and health care.
Politico: Health Care Wonks Turn To 2016
Even before the midterm election that's likely to turn heavily on Obamacare, health care wonks from both parties are already thinking ahead, taking the first early cracks at health care ideas the next White House candidates can use. But the challenges will be starkly different for the two parties (Nather, 4/26).
The Hill: Dems Don't Want To Talk O-Care
To many Democrats, Obamacare is a four-letter word. Most Democrats in competitive elections are seeking to avoid the topic, opting not to tout the controversial law on their campaign websites. In a review of battleground races, The Hill found that out of 50 Democratic candidates with active campaign websites, only 11 mention the healthcare law by name, either as "Obamacare," "Affordable Care Act," or "ACA." Fourteen more mention the law, but not its name, and half the candidates omit it entirely from their websites (Timmons, 4/26).
The Washington Post: Boehner Takes Over Response To Obama, Focuses On Jobs And Health Care
President Obama's record is "littered" with promises -- ranging from an economic stimulus plan to a new health care law -- that have not panned out, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) charged Saturday as he touted measures passed in recent months by the House meant to spur job creation. Boehner spoke during the Republican response to Obama's Saturday morning radio address, a forum usually reserved for rank-and-file lawmakers or GOP governors (O'Keefe, 4/26).
And the health law becomes a major issue in the Democratic primary for governor in Maryland --
The Washington Post: Gansler Hopes To Wield Maryland Health Exchange Woes As A Club Against Brown
Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Douglas F. Gansler is pounding his chief rival, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, over the state's deeply troubled online health exchange, convinced that the tactic will help him gain ground in the polls ahead of the all-important Democratic primary in June. Gansler, the state attorney general, brought up the health-care "debacle" barely three minutes into his introductory comments at a candidates forum last week. He has highlighted the "mess" in three television ads -- the latest debuted Thursday -- and in one lengthy radio spot. And he has set up a Web site questioning when Brown will "come clean" about the exchange's shortcomings (Wagner, 4/26).
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 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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