Democrats took control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, prompting cheers among left-leaning voters — including, oddly enough, for medical conditions.
During a speech at Democratic Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader since losing the speaker’s gavel after the 2010 elections, said the flip will restore checks and balances to the Trump administration and stop the GOP and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s “assault” on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act “and the more than 130 million people living with pre-existing medical conditions,” she said. “Tomorrow will be a new day in America.”
As the audience reacted to her words, Pelosi added:
‘Let’s hear it more for pre-existing medical conditions.’ Rep. Nancy Pelosi
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And: Democrats poised to control House after health care, immigration drive voters to polls
President Trump reportedly called Pelosi at 11:45 p.m. to congratulate her party on winning the House majority, Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, tweeted.
President Trump called Leader Pelosi at 11:45 p.m. this evening to extend his congratulations on winning a Democratic House Majority. He acknowledged the Leader’s call for bipartisanship in her victory remarks.
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) November 7, 2018
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders reportedly had said she didn’t expect Trump to abide by the convention of making such a call and wasn’t sure why he would do so.
Health care was an important issue weighing on voters’ minds this election, exit polls show. More than 40% of voters said health care was the top issue facing the country, compared with 23% who named immigration, 21% who said the economy and 11% who pointed to gun policy. Health care was also a focal point of many campaign advertisements. Health-care concerns even outweighed reports of a booming economy prior to the election.
Politicians have been talking a lot about pre-existing medical conditions, and how they might affect Americans’ access to health insurance. Under a recent Trump administration proposal, someone with a pre-existing condition may have access to affordable health insurance, but without the treatments of those conditions covered, wrote J.B. Silvers, a professor of health finance at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and School of Medicine. There are multiple layers of access to proper health care, including the availability of insurance, but also premiums, limited cost sharing and freedom of choice, he wrote.
Pelosi reportedly had a plan in place in case the Democrats took charge of the House. She said House Democrats intended to introduce a campaign-finance-reform package, as well as a plan to reduce drug prices, and to embark on an effort to work with Republicans to create a bill on background checks for gun purchases, according to Politico.
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