Democrats eye 2028 for bigger health care push – Roll Call

## Summary
Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led a group of Senate Finance Committee Democrats last month in outlining a slate of policy priorities related to health care. ( Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo ) By Lia DeGroot Posted April 2, 2026 at 11:02am Facebook Twitter Email Reddit As Democrats vie to take control of Congress in the midterms this fall, their main message on health care policy is fairly straightforward: Undo Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and restore the health care subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year. Polling conducted by KFF earlier this year shows that the party has an advantage over Republicans when it comes to key health care issues such as Medicaid, Medicare and prescription drug pricing. For the midterms, Democrats aim to make the case that the Republicans’ actions on health care this Congress — including the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 reconciliation law and the expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits — are raising health care costs for Americans. A group of Senate Finance Committee members led by ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., last month outlined a slate of policy priorities, the first of which is: “Reverse Republican Cost Increases and Reimagine a Better Path.” They also want to ensure that insurance companies are using federal dollars to improve patient experience rather than drive profits, and simplify the process of enrolling in coverage. “The devastating consequences of Trump’s and Republicans’ health care cuts are playing out in real time,” the senators wrote in a March 19 letter to colleagues. “Over the past year, Republicans have passed legislation and issued regulations that make insurance harder to buy and more expensive to keep.” The lawmakers plan to release more details in the coming weeks and months, they wrote.

## Article Content
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led a group of Senate Finance Committee Democrats last month in outlining a slate of policy priorities related to health care. (
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo
)
By
Lia DeGroot
Posted April 2, 2026 at 11:02am
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As Democrats vie to take control of Congress in the midterms this fall, their main message on health care policy is fairly straightforward: Undo Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and restore the health care subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year.
But some analysts and lawmakers say momentum is growing for a bigger health care push in 2028.
Health care has historically been a winning issue for Democrats.
Polling
conducted by KFF earlier this year shows that the party has an advantage over Republicans when it comes to key health care issues such as Medicaid, Medicare and prescription drug pricing.
For the midterms, Democrats aim to make the case that the Republicans’ actions on health care this Congress — including the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 reconciliation law and the expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits — are raising health care costs for Americans. Democrats hope to harness the issue of affordability in their case against Republicans.
“There’s going to be a ton of health care discussion, but it’s all going to come through the lens of costs and pricing,” CJ Warnke, communications director at the left-leaning political action committee House Majority, said in an interview.
Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at KFF, said he expects Democrats’ message for the midterms to be mainly reactive to the Republican agenda, rather than proposing new policy ideas.That’s a common dynamic anytime the party that’s not in power seeks to gain back seats.
“The time is not quite right for an agenda of their own, because President Trump would still be in the White House,” he said.
But Levitt said he’s starting to sense momentum for a bigger push from Democrats. He said the environment right now feels similar to 2006, when Democrats were starting to lay out the building blocks for what became President Barack Obama’s signature health care achievement, the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
Some Democrats in Congress are already starting to map out their policy proposals for when the party potentially wins back power, but the ideas are in the early stages.
A group of Senate Finance Committee members led by ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., last month outlined a slate of policy priorities, the first of which is: “Reverse Republican Cost Increases and Reimagine a Better Path.” They also want to ensure that insurance companies are using federal dollars to improve patient experience rather than drive profits, and simplify the process of enrolling in coverage.
“The devastating consequences of Trump’s and Republicans’ health care cuts are playing out in real time,” the senators wrote in a March 19 letter to colleagues. “Over the past year, Republicans have passed legislation and issued regulations that make insurance harder to buy and more expensive to keep.”
The lawmakers plan to release more details in the coming weeks and months, they wrote.
Drug pricing
Back in February, some Senate Democrats laid out their plans for drug pricing, which included expanding the Medicare drug price negotiation authority that was established by the 2022 reconciliation law.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said the main issue he hears from constituents is the rising cost of insurance premiums.
In his view, the conversation on health care has turned into a debate about who pays — the patient, the insurer, or the government — but, he said, there hasn’t been enough of a focus about actually lowering costs.
Auchincloss touted what’s known as Medicaid’s 1115 waivers, which states use to negotiate the terms of their Medicaid programs with the Health and Human Services Department. Auchincloss wants states to be more aggressive in how they use them to help negotiate for more control over their Medicaid programs.
“To me, these ambitious governors … should be using these 1115 waivers to say to Washington, ‘we want much more control over terms, conditions and funding for our Medicaid program, and we’re going to use Medicaid to drive down costs in our states,’” he said.
Beyond the midterms
The party that championed the passage of the 2010 health care law is starting to discuss their next comprehensive health care push, which could come during the 2028 presidential election.
Some Democratic lawmakers say they should start laying the groundwork for that now. While some members of the party are on record saying they would support switching to a single-payer health care system, the proposal would be a long shot for 2028.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, at a recent hearing drew attention to
polling
showing that 75 percent of uninsured Americans skipped

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Polling conducted by KFF earlier this year shows that the party has an advantage over Republicans when it comes to key health care issues such as Medicaid, Medicare and prescription drug pricing.
- He said the environment right now feels similar to 2006, when Democrats were starting to lay out the building blocks for what became President Barack Obama’s signature health care achievement, the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
- Beyond the midterms The party that championed the passage of the 2010 health care law is starting to discuss their next comprehensive health care push, which could come during the 2028 presidential election.
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### Areas for Consideration
- Health care has historically been a winning issue for Democrats.
- Democrats hope to harness the issue of affordability in their case against Republicans. “There’s going to be a ton of health care discussion, but it’s all going to come through the lens of costs and pricing,” CJ Warnke, communications director at the left-leaning political action committee House Majority, said in an interview.
- Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said the main issue he hears from constituents is the rising cost of insurance premiums.

### Implications
- Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led a group of Senate Finance Committee Democrats last month in outlining a slate of policy priorities related to health care. ( Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo ) By Lia DeGroot Posted April 2, 2026 at 11:02am Facebook Twitter Email Reddit As Democrats vie to take control of Congress in the midterms this fall, their main message on health care policy is fairly straightforward: Undo Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and restore the health care subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year.
- Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at KFF, said he expects Democrats’ message for the midterms to be mainly reactive to the Republican agenda, rather than proposing new policy ideas.That’s a common dynamic anytime the party that’s not in power seeks to gain back seats. “The time is not quite right for an agenda of their own, because President Trump would still be in the White House,” he said.
- Some Democrats in Congress are already starting to map out their policy proposals for when the party potentially wins back power, but the ideas are in the early stages.
- A group of Senate Finance Committee members led by ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., last month outlined a slate of policy priorities, the first of which is: “Reverse Republican Cost Increases and Reimagine a Better Path.” They also want to ensure that insurance companies are using federal dollars to improve patient experience rather than drive profits, and simplify the process of enrolling in coverage. “The devastating consequences of Trump’s and Republicans’ health care cuts are playing out in real time,” the senators wrote in a March 19 letter to colleagues. “Over the past year, Republicans have passed legislation and issued regulations that make insurance harder to buy and more expensive to keep.” The lawmakers plan to release more details in the coming weeks and months, they wrote.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers health, care, democrats topics. Notable strengths include discussion of health. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1310.