2012 Connecticut Senate Debate: on Health Care


Christopher Shays: ObamaCare takes away $500 billion from Medicare

Christopher Shays, who wants the Obama healthcare law repealed, said it "takes away" $500 billion from Medicare.The $500 billion, according to the Kaiser Family Health Foundation and other research groups, is not a cut, however, but rather a savings achieved by slowing the spending growth over 10 years. Politifact said it is not accurate to imply that the program will be funded with less money. Kaiser said the benefits are not decreased.

"The bottom line is we got to do that (cut growth) just to save Medicare, but we are taking it to fund something else. We need that just to make sure that Medicare doesn't go bankrupt," Shays said. "To take it out of the program to provide it to another program is a mistake."

In the statement he issued after the Supreme Court upheld the Accountable Care Act on Thursday, Shays said: "Obamacare takes $500 billion away from Medicare, a vital program for our senior citizens that was already heading for insolvency, and uses it for other purposes."

Source: New Haven Register on 2012 CT Senate debate Jun 29, 2012

Chris Murphy: I'm a huge supporter of the public option

Bysiewicz said she was a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature health care legislation that is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court, and that if the law was struck down by the court steps needed to be taken to pass a similar bill in the future that guaranteed health care access. "Everyone in America deserves access to quality, affordable health care," Bysiewicz said. "There are many people who are just one very bad test result away from getting very sick and losing their home or losing all of their financial wealth."

Murphy said that Congress would not be able to just "re-pass" the health care law if the Supreme Court were to overturn it, and at that point it might be time to consider a public option for health care in the United States. "I'm a huge supporter of the public option," Murphy said.

Source: East Haven Patch on 2012 CT Senate debates Apr 9, 2012

Susan Bysiewicz: Many are just one bad medical test away from losing all

Bysiewicz said she was a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature health care legislation that is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court, and that if the law was struck down by the court steps needed to be taken to pass a similar bill in the future that guaranteed health care access. "Everyone in America deserves access to quality, affordable health care," Bysiewicz said. "There are many people who are just one very bad test result away from getting very sick and losing their home or losing all of their financial wealth."

Murphy said that Congress would not be able to just "re-pass" the health care law if the Supreme Court were to overturn it, and at that point it might be time to consider a public option for health care in the United States. "I'm a huge supporter of the public option," Murphy said.

Source: East Haven Patch on 2012 CT Senate debates Apr 9, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Connecticut Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Chris Murphy on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Linda McMahon on Health Care.
Candidates and political leaders on Health Care:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018