Oregon Single Payer
Oregon voters saw the light and rejected Measure 23 by an overwhelming vote of 79% to 21% (with 76% of the vote in). The measure would have funneled all the public and private money spent on health care in the state into a “single-payer” account run by government. A study by LECG consulting, released just before the election showed that every Oregon resident would have paid an additional $4,000 to $5,900 in taxes if the new system were implemented.
Prescription Drugs
- The prescription drug benefit for Medicare which the House passed in 2002 gave Republicans an edge on an issue that traditionally favors Democrats.
- House Incumbents John Shimkus (R-IL) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) actively campaigned on their support of the House Medicare prescription drug bill.
- Shimkus defeated David Phelps 55-45
- Johnson defeated Jim Malony 54-43
- Shimkus defeated David Phelps 55-45
- Senate challengers John Thune (R-SD), John Sununu (R-NH), and Jim Talent (R-MO) also used their support of the House Medicare bill to blunt attacks from their opponents on the issue.
- Thune leads Tim Johnson 50-49
- Sununu defeated Jeanne Shaheen 51-47
- Talent defeated Jean Carnahan 50-49
- Thune leads Tim Johnson 50-49
- Open seat Senate candidates Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and House candidates Jo Bonner (R-AL), and Bob Beauprez (R-CO) also made their support of a responsible drug benefit along the lines of the House bill an important part of their campaigns.
- Dole defeated Erskine Bowles 54-45
- Cornyn defeated Ron Kirk 55-43
- Bonner defeated Judy McCain Belk 60-38
- Beauprez leads Mike Feeley 48-46
- Dole defeated Erskine Bowles 54-45
- The Medicare prescription drug issue was expected to be pivotal in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins, R, successfully defended her seat against Chellie Pingree, D, who devised a controversial price-control system for prescription drugs in Maine. Democrats thought this issue and this candidate were their best chance to make the race competitive. The effort failed.
- House Incumbents John Shimkus (R-IL) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) actively campaigned on their support of the House Medicare prescription drug bill.
- Alternatively, many Democrats had messages on prescription drugs that didn’t seem to resonate with voters.
- Tim Johnson (D-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Bob Clement (D-TN) said Republicans were too aligned with big pharmaceutical companies.
- Johnson is losing to Thune 50-49
- Shaheen lost to Sununu 51-47
- Clement lost to Lamar Alexander, 55-44
- Johnson is losing to Thune 50-49
- Erskine Bowles (D-NC), Jean Carnahan (D-MO), Walter Mondale (D-MN), and Ron Kirk (D-TX) supported a government-run drug benefit for Medicare and the promotion of generic drugs.
- Bowles lost to Dole 54-45
- Carnahan lost to Talent 50-49
- Mondale lost to Norm Coleman 50-48
- Kirk lost to Cornyn 55-43
- Bowles lost to Dole 54-45
- In New York, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall cut a television spot blaming incumbent Gov. Pataki for the state’s high prescription drug prices. McCall lost.
General health issues
- Many candidates discussed health care issues specific to their districts.
- Medical malpractice reform was an issue in Maryland’s gubernatorial race as well as in the West Virginia House race between Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Jim Humphreys (D).
- In Maryland, Ehrlich defeated Kennedy-Townsend 51-48
- Capito defeated Democrat Humphreys 60-40
- In Maryland, Ehrlich defeated Kennedy-Townsend 51-48
- State efforts to lower prescription drug costs were important issues in most contests for governor, but especially in Florida where Jeb Bush defeated Bill McBride 56-43
For more information contact:
Galen Institute
(703) 299-8900 - Medical malpractice reform was an issue in Maryland’s gubernatorial race as well as in the West Virginia House race between Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Jim Humphreys (D).
- Tim Johnson (D-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Bob Clement (D-TN) said Republicans were too aligned with big pharmaceutical companies.