In response to a bombshell report in Semafor, which revealed newly obtained audio of Republican Tim Sheehy arguing for “pure privatization” of the U.S. healthcare system, End Citizens United spokesperson Bawadden Sayed issued the following statement:
“Tim Sheehy’s plan to privatize healthcare is corporate America’s wildest dream come true. This reckless proposal would spell disaster for the well-being of Montanans, especially senior citizens, veterans, and people with pre-existing conditions. Montanans deserve a leader who is committed to making healthcare more affordable and accessible––not an out-of-state, out-of-touch millionaire who’s willing to auction our health off to the highest bidder.”
Semafor: Republican Senate frontrunner in Montana calls for returning ‘healthcare to pure privatization’
Kadia Goba
12/04/2023
Key Points:
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Tim Sheehy, a lead contender for the Republican Senate nomination in Montana, said earlier this year that he wants to privatize the U.S. healthcare system, according to audio obtained by Semafor.
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The comments, made at an August meet-and-greet in Glasgow, Mont., were captured on an audio recording obtained by Semafor. Speaking to a group of attendees, Sheehy argued that the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies for insurance coverage and other federal health programs had inflated the cost of medical treatment.
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“Our hospitals have been built around federal healthcare subsidies. In my opinion we need to return healthcare to pure privatization,” he said.
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The comments go further than Sheehy’s past public comments on healthcare. On his website, he blames Obamacare for higher premiums and adds that more government control, “health care has only made things worse“ but stops short of calling for a repeal.
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Sheehy’s talk of privatizing the healthcare system is the kind of rhetoric Republicans in D.C. have desperately been trying to disassociate themselves from in recent years.
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The party has largely avoided the topic of healthcare in general since their failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, a politically disastrous effort that led to months of party infighting and eventually helped cost them the House. But they have been sucked back into the issue since last month thanks to Donald Trump, who has repeatedly promised that he will try to repeal and replace Obamacare again if elected for a second term.
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In response, GOP lawmakers have largely played down the possibility of a new push for repeal.
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“Boy, I haven’t thought about that one in a while,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. said, in one characteristic response. “I just don’t know what [Trump’s] thinking or how we would go about doing that.”
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