The document summarizes the positions of 2016 US presidential candidates on healthcare and the Affordable Care Act. Hillary Clinton supports building on the ACA while Republicans like Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump support repealing it. Bernie Sanders supports replacing the ACA with a single-payer system. Candidates also differ on issues like the medical device tax, prescription drug costs, and the role of private insurers versus government.

1. 2016 Presidential Candidates & Healthcare
Insights and Perspectives

2. Candidates’ positions range from proposals to:
• modify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and regulate pharmaceutical
prices (Hillary Clinton)
• eliminate the ACA (all the Republicans) and Medical Device Tax
• change coverage via a single-payer system (Bernie Sanders)
Healthcare Views and Presidential Politics
The presidential election is still months
away; however, the countdown to the
March 1st Super Tuesday primary is on!
The positions of the presidential
candidates on healthcare and the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) are
noteworthy as healthcare consumes $3
trillion, almost $10,000 for every man,
woman and child in the United States.
© 2016 Market Edge 2

3. Candidate Affordable Care Act Position Policy Highlights Key Campaign Points
Hillary
Clinton
Supports the ACA and pledges to
build on it and expand affordable
coverage and slow growth of overall
healthcare costs
Regarding the medical device tax,
she said, "On the tax itself, I think
we have to look to see what are the
pluses and minuses that are
embodied in a decision about either
to remove or alter or continue this
particular piece of the ACA”
Clinton has dedicated plans for
lowering prescription drug costs as
well as plans to support paid and
unpaid caregivers available to the
public
• Defend the ACA
• Lower out-of-pocket costs
(copays & deductibles)
• Reduce the cost of prescription
drugs
• Transform the healthcare system
to reward value & quality
Bernie
Sanders
Supports the ACA as a 1st step
towards universal coverage and a
single-payer health system
Sanders' plan calls for "reduced
spending on monopoly prices for
pharmaceuticals and medical
devices”
Sanders has detailed a healthcare
policy that lowers the cost of
prescription drugs to include
requiring Medicare to negotiate with
pharma companies for better prices,
allows import of Canadian
prescription drugs and prohibits
“anti-competitive” deals that keep
generics off the market
• Supports a Medicare-for-all single
payer healthcare system
Candidates Positions on Healthcare Issues
© 2016 Market Edge 3

4. Candidates Positions on Healthcare Issues
Candidate Affordable Care Act Position Policy Highlights Key Campaign Points
Jeb
Bush
Bush said he would repeal the ACA
and replace it with a plan that
would:
• Promote innovation
• Lower costs and enable portable,
secure coverage for all Americans
• Take healthcare control out of
Washington and return it to the
states
Bush would repeal the Medical
Device Tax and implicitly endorses
the 21st Century Cures movement,
which would make modest
improvements in the FDA’s
regulatory process
Healthcare plan includes:
• Tax credits for Americans who do
not have employer-sponsored
health coverage
• Private sector development of
health information technology
• Increased funding for the
National Institutes of Health
• Greater transparency on costs
• Restore state regulation of
insurance markets
• Increase contribution limits &
uses for Health Savings Accounts
(HSAs)
• Create “accountability” for better
care for low-income patients
• Remove national control over
healthcare
• Provide more choice & flexibility
for patients and move healthcare
policy to states
Ben
Carson
Carson calls the ACA a “looming
disaster” and advocates “re-
establishing a strong and direct
bond relationship between patients
and their physicians”
Carson wants to fully repeal all the
ACA taxes including the Medical
Device Tax
Carson supports health savings
accounts (HSAs) and believes in
more freedom and less government
in the U.S. healthcare system
• Pledges to create HSAs
• Modernize Medicare to keep pace
with advances
• Save Medicaid through fixed
dollars support to states
• Form a National Medical Coalition
of doctors and medical
professionals who are supporting
his campaign and offering
counsel
© 2016 Market Edge 4

5. Candidates Positions on Healthcare Issues
Candidate Affordable Care Act Position Policy Highlights Key Campaign Points
Chris
Christie
Christie called the ACA a “failed
federal program” and promises to
repeal it
Christie would repeal the Medical
Device Tax stating “The medical
device industry has been a source
of growth for the U.S. economy, a
source of exports, and a source of
innovation. Why would we want
less of those things?”
In New Jersey, Christie:
• Increased the number of
affordable health insurance
options through increased
competition
• Emphasized early detection and
preventive care
• Eliminated the tax on individual
and small group premiums
• Expand Medicare’s sliding scale
for premiums
• A per capita cap system for
Medicaid to give states more
freedom with their programs,
disability insurance reform, and
improved healthcare for veterans
by expanding where they can
receive healthcare benefits and
establishing a mental health
hotline staffed by veteran
volunteers
Ted Cruz
Cruz does not support the ACA and
wants to repeal it; voting in favor of
a Senate bill to repeal large portions
of the ACA on December 3, 2015
including the Medical Device Tax
Cruz introduced the Health Care
Choices Act, which would repeal the
ACA and allow consumers to
purchase health insurance plans in
any state
• Raise Medicare's eligibility age to
save costs
Carly
Fiorina
Fiorina wrote an op-ed in TIME to
promote her plan to repeal the ACA
and promote the free market in
healthcare
Fiorina wants to fully repeal the
Medical Device Tax
Fiorina believes in the following:
• Protect those with pre-existing
conditions in state-run high-risk
pools
• Moves America closer to real,
genuine competition that drives
down costs and drives up quality
• Calls for the government to
require healthcare-related
companies to publish their prices,
costs and outcomes
© 2016 Market Edge 5

6. Candidates Positions on Healthcare Issues
© 2016 Market Edge 6
Candidate Affordable Care Act Position Policy Highlights Key Campaign Points
John
Kasich
Kasich does not support the ACA
and wants to repeal it
Kasich would repeal the Medical
Device Tax indicating in his 2015
state of the state address
“telemedicine and medical devices
are “cutting-edge industries we
must have in Ohio”
Despite his position on the ACA,
Kasich expanded Medicaid in Ohio
under the health care overhaul,
while some other Republican
governors refused to do so
• Establish a market-driven health
care system
• Shift to quality-based health care
rather than quantity-based health
care
Marco
Rubio
Rubio does not support the ACA
and wants to repeal it
Rubio voted in favor of a Senate bill
to repeal large portions of the ACA
on December 3, 2015 including the
Medical Device Tax
• Rubio’s campaign website lists
veterans and the VA among his
areas of focus
• He has already led bipartisan
Congressional efforts to reform
the VA and expanded patient-
centered healthcare options for
veterans with service-connected
disabilities
• Create a refundable tax credit to
be used for purchasing health
insurance
• Reform regulations to lower
costs, encourage innovation &
protect the vulnerable
• Save and strengthen Medicare &
Medicaid by placing them on
fiscally sustainable paths
Donald
Trump
Trump called the ACA a “disaster”
that he vowed to replace
Trump wants to fully repeal all the
Obamacare taxes including the
Medical Device Tax
• Though he once favored a single-
payer program, Trump now says
private plans are the way to go
• Call for opening competition to
let people shop for insurance
across state lines
• “Make deals" with hospitals to
provide care for the poor
• Focused largely on VA issues
including ability to see any
Medicare physician
• Promotion of telemedicine visits