Health Care & Health Costs Expected to Dominate 2020 Presidential Election

Health care will be one of the main issues facing Presidential candidates in the 2020 Election, according to Dr. Daniel Skinner, a political scientist and health policy professor at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio University. People are concerned about issues of health costs, access and health care quality, says Dr. Skinner. They also are extremely concerned that health insurance proposals cover pre-existing conditions. He states that there is some confusion among the electorate when President Donald Trump says he is protecting people with pre-existing conditions at the same time his administration is in federal court asking that pre-existing protections be removed from the Affordable Care Act. He says that determining President Trump and the Republicans position on health care is difficult because they really have not advanced or articulated a policy. Dr. Skinner says that the Democrats certainly have not embraced a unified approach to health care. In the podcast, he breaks down Sen. Bernie Sanders “Medicare for All” proposal into understandable terms. He also details the plans of other Democratic candidates. Dr. Skinner says that the electorate folds into health care issues the concern over the high cost of pharmaceuticals. He states the strong pharmaceutical lobby in Washington has prohibited any Congressional action to lower prices but he thinks the Presidential candidates will be expected to address this matter. Dr, Skinner is the co-director of the Osteopathic Health Policy Fellowship and an associate editor of a peer-reviewed journal “Critical Public Health.” He also is the co-editor of the book “Not Far From Med: Stories of Opioids and Ohio” and the host of the podcast “Prognosis Ohio” addressing health care and health care policies.