ANALYSIS

*Democrats are looking for a new midterm strategy to appeal to voters in a time of rising inflation and high gas prices. It remains to be seen if this issue is sufficiently important to win over swing voters in order to overcome the bleak odds facing the Democratic Party against the GOP in November.

As of this writing, Politico’s Election forecast predicts the House will go to Republicans in the 2022 midterms. With the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats are hoping to get back in the favor of Americans. They say that it will reduce healthcare costs.

As the article points out, drug price negotiations that would lower the cost for Americans won’t begin until 2026 and price caps for spending on Medicare for seniors won’t take effect until 2025.

Democrats will face challenges in selling it to voters, as they won’t have much tangible evidence yet. They will have to present it as an historic win over Big Pharma, and then ask for public trust on the future positive changes,” Larry Levitt (Executive Vice President, Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation) told Politico. *Voters are concerned about access and healthcare costs, but is this enough? And does it outweigh other issues facing Americans? (Related: A New Poll Destroys Democratic Hopes of Pro-Abortion Voters ) *Healthcare is a top priority for Democrat voters. Among likely Democrat midterm voters, 74% say healthcare is a very important issue for the midterms, according to a Pew Research poll. Importance is, however, a partisan topic, as only 44% of Republicans say it is a very important issue for them for November.

Democrats say the Inflation Reduction Act will lower healthcare costs and boost clean energy, while Republicans warn of IRS overreach and higher prices https://t.co/V8ORterply

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 11, 2022

This may bode well for Democrats, assuming they can assure voters that their policies are positively impacting drug prices. However, economics, which are a major concern for Democrats in the economy, continue to be a key issue. They still rank higher than healthcare.

According to a Pew Research poll taken in March, healthcare is the third top issue for all voters, with 60% saying it is very important to their vote. The issue was heavily divided along partisan lines, with 44% of Republicans and 74% of Democrats saying it was a very important issue to them. (RELATED : “The Worst Ever”: CNN’s Host Slams Dems’ Midterm hopes )

*In the same poll the economy remained at the top of both parties’ list. Of those polled, 78% said the economy was a top issue for them. Even among Democrats, well over half of those polled said it was a very important issue, at 68%. A full 90% of Republican voters said the same thing. This is bad news for Democrats’ midterm prospects, as polling suggests the Inflation Reduction Act could negatively affect Americans’ economic outlook.

#CA27 @RepMikeGarcia will vote against our families again today.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes:

Corporations pay their fair share & tax cheats too
Lower healthcare & prescription prices
The biggest investment in US history in combating climate change & drought pic.twitter.com/8SiNYBQHVX

— Christy Smith (@ChristySmithCA) August 12, 2022

A recent report from the University of Chicago found that Americans will spend more on healthcare under the Inflation Reduction Act, not less. The report said that total healthcare spending would increase by more than $50 billion over a period of 20 years under the drug pricing proposals in the legislation.

The Daily Caller’s Dylan Housman reported that the healthcare cost crisis facing Americans under President Biden could be worsened by the new drug pricing proposals. Democrats face this problem because their only hope of boosting their midterm prospects is to lower prices. This is especially true given America’s bleak economic situation. The current prices do not reflect the skyrocketing inflation that will soon hit American pockets. *Democrats have the best chance of making healthcare a key issue in midterm elections by proving their ability to lower prices. This strategy would combine Democrats’ healthcare legislation and Americans’ understandingable concern over the economy to show that Democrats have left-wing policies in healthcare. It will not be easy to prove this.