May 21 2024KFF Health News Angling to tap into strong support for the sweeping health law he helped pass 14 years ago, one of President Joe Biden's latest reelection strategies is to remind voters that former President Donald Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Swaying even a tiny percentage of voters could make a difference for Biden, said Kenneth Miller, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.Political experts say Biden is wise to draw attention to the ACA, which ended long-standing insurance practices denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions or charging them more — a change that is "popular across the partisan divide" and benefits about half of U.S.
Democrats are fighting to extend higher government subsidies for most people with ACA coverage, which were increased during the pandemic and are set to expire in 2025. They're also banking on outrage over the Supreme Court's 2022 decision striking down Roe v. Wade, and strict abortion bans that have followed in many Republican-led states, to juice Democratic turnout.
"Biden has been mired by voter concerns about inflation and immigration, where Republicans are preferred," he said. "Health care is more favorable territory where the Trump campaign does not have much of a defense to offer." "These ads are an effort to shake up the agenda," Miller said. "Biden needs more work reminding Democrat-leaning independent voters who probably voted for him in 2020 that he is the better choice."