Democrats are making healthcare the centerpiece of their midterm attack on Republicans, focusing on two specific vulnerabilities: Medicaid cuts enacted in the 2025 reconciliation law and the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act late last year.
The strategy bets that voters care about affordability. CJ Warnke, communications director for House Majority, a Democratic PAC, said the party's healthcare pitch will center on "costs and pricing."
Polling from KFF this year shows Democrats hold an advantage over Republicans on healthcare issues including Medicaid, Medicare and prescription drug pricing.
Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, said a major Democratic policy push is unlikely before the midterms because President Trump controls the White House. He expects Democrats to remain mostly reactive—criticizing Republican moves rather than proposing their own—a typical posture for the party out of power.
But if Democrats return to power, the ambitions grow sharply. Levitt drew a parallel to 2006, when Democrats began building the intellectual foundation for the Affordable Care Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010.
Senate Democrats are already drafting that foundation. In March, a group led by Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. unveiled a set of healthcare priorities with the stated goal of "Reverse Republican Cost Increases and Reimagine a Better Path." The proposals include forcing insurance companies to use federal funds for patient care rather than profits and simplifying enrollment in health coverage.
In a March 19 letter to colleagues, the senators wrote that "The devastating consequences of Trump's and Republicans' health care cuts are playing out in real time." They pledged to release more detailed plans in the coming weeks and months.
Separately, some Senate Democrats unveiled drug pricing proposals in February.
