As Midterm Elections Draw Closer, House Democrats Weigh Role of Affordable Care Act

On Tuesday, March 27, CBS News reported that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats will soon decide whether or not to base their midterm election campaigns around the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re not running on or from the Affordable Care Act. We’re very proud of it,” Pelosi said to Vox.com. “It’s about wellness; it’s about prevention; it’s about technology … it’s about the value, not volume, of procedures. And people really don’t know that and I think part of that accrues to us for not having an initiative that inoculated the public against some of these false attacks that the Republicans were making on it.”

In recent months, the Affordable Care Act has been headed on the right track, making it an attractive choice for running platforms.

Despite Republican claims that the law is a failure, the Affordable Care Act has enrolled more than 8 million people after fixing its website in recent months. However, if Democrats don’t hold on to their seats in the House, they could risk being unable to implement necessary changes and improvements to the law.

Pelosi added that House Democrats will determine the effectiveness of running for re-election with an Affordable Care Act-focused platform based on their individual districts.

“I think the Democrats will run on saying that the Affordable Care Act is really important for America’s families and that we stand ready to improve it as we see how it is implemented,” Pelosi said. “I think that’s a really important message, not to let it be repeal or retain, but to have the Affordable Care Act and improve upon it.”