Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is using a new ad to hit his Republican opponent for signing onto an Obamacare lawsuit that seeks to gut the healthcare law.
The latest re-election ad, out Friday, highlights Obamacare rules that protect people with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, by obligating health insurers cover them and by prohibiting them from charging them more because of their health status.
His GOP opponent, Patrick Morrisey, is attorney general of West Virginia. He and 19 other state attorneys general have signed onto a lawsuit that argues Obamacare must fall because the tax bill signed into law by President Trump late last year eliminated the Obamacare penalties for being uninsured beginning in 2019.
Manchin’s ad features Natalie Hardy, a Jefferson County, W.Va., resident who had a kidney transplant.
“I don’t know how Patrick Morrisey doesn’t understand diabetes, high blood pressure,” Hardy said. “It’s wrong for Patrick Morrisey to want to take away coverage from West Virginians like me.”
[Trump: Obamacare to be gone ‘pretty soon’]
Manchin, a centrist Democrat who is running in a pro-Trump state, sided with fellow Democrats to vote against repealing parts of Obamacare.
Morrisey’s campaign referred to the latest ad as part of Democrats’ “false Hillary Clinton-style attacks.” It insisted that Morrisey believes the pre-existing conditions provisions should not be repealed.
“Attorney General Morrisey believes all West Virginians deserve access to affordable and quality healthcare and that is why we must repeal and replace the disaster of Obamacare,” said Nathan Brand, Morrisey for Senate spokesperson. “Manchin’s support for Obama’s government-run healthcare and skyrocketing premiums is proof that he’ll put his Washington special interests ahead of the healthcare of West Virginians.”
The latest ad represents a larger shift in the Democratic Party. For years, Republicans vowed to repeal the law as Democrats tried to defend it and tamp down criticism amid a troubled website launch and public outcry over losing plans and doctors. Now, Democrats are bragging about the law’s provisions and argue that Republicans are intent on “sabotaging” Obamacare, including the more popular parts of the law.
The Trump administration is partially siding with states. It argues that most of Obamacare can stay in place but not the rules on pre-existing conditions, saying they cannot be severed from the individual mandate that requires most people obtain healthcare coverage.
[Also read: Trump administration approves New Jersey plan to shore up Obamacare]
