After their sweeping victories across the country, Democrats are ready to hit the ground running, turning their campaign promises into a decisive agenda focused on lowering costs, protecting coverage, and reversing the damage of Trump and Republicans’ devastating cuts to American health care. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has already pledged to fight to reverse the devastating Medicaid cuts and restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, making health care a top priority for the new Congress. The days of Trump and Republicans having free rein to destroy health care are over, and the fight for affordable health care has begun.
Headlines
KFF: Democrats’ Election Rout Is Poised To Dramatically Reorder Federal Health Policy
- “‘Congress will be sworn in during open enrollment, at a time when people will be having to make difficult and horrific choices about their healthcare, given the further increases in premiums due to the Republicans,’ said Leslie Dach, who chairs the Democratic-aligned advocacy group Protect Our Care.”
The Hill: Healthcare Powers Democrats’ Midterm Rout: 4 Takeaways
- Democratic candidates made healthcare affordability a key part of their messaging. They campaigned on restoring the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and on delaying or rolling back the Medicaid cuts passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- Polling over the past year consistently showed that voters are worried about the cost of healthcare — and trusted Democrats more to fix it. Democrats leaned into that message, and the results were borne out on Tuesday.
The Guardian: ‘Revenge of the Nerds’: Us Midterms Deliver a Win for Science – And a Rebuke of MAHA
- “‘It’s clear from the results: 2026 was a healthcare election,’ said Erik Polyak, executive director of 3.14 Action, a group that worked to elect Democratic health professionals and scientists across the country. ‘We’ve heard a lot about affordability. Healthcare affordability is the No 1 piece of that. Our doctors and scientists are certainly well-equipped to lead on those issues.’”
NBC News: 5 Healthcare Fights Democrats Could Take On After Midterms Sweep
- “With control of the House and Senate, Democrats will hold significant leverage to restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, reverse cuts to Medicaid and push for changes they say would make healthcare more affordable.”
- “House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said restoring the expired enhanced ACA tax credits would be a primary objective for Democrats if they took control of Congress in 2027.”
STAT: Democratic Doctors and Scientists Ride the Blue Wave
- “We will have the opportunity with this new Congress to repeal some of the cuts to Medicaid and restore funds for Medicaid and food assistance that were both really damaged in the last two years,” said Julie Scofield, a member of the coordinating committee for the volunteer group Defend Public Health and former executive director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.
- “Health care has been the number one issue in this election, whether it’s affordability or accessibility,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, founder and president 314 Action. “Both are out of reach for too many Americans. Having doctors and public health officials not just as policy advisors, but as elected officials, makes a huge difference in that discussion.”
The Washington Post: Democrats Pledge to Quickly Reverse Changes to Medicaid, Restore ACA Subsidies
- “We’re going to fight hard to make sure that we can ensure that every single American can afford to go see a doctor when they need one,” Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat in line to be the next House speaker, said in an election night victory speech. “We will fight for your hospitals. We will fight for your nursing home. We will fight for your community-based health clinics. And we’re going to fight to reverse these painful Medicaid cuts.”
Tradoffs: How Democrats’ Big Win Could Reshape Health Care
- Democrats have their sights set high. They’ve pledged to repeal Republicans’ health care cuts in their first 100 hours in power — starting with restoring enhanced premium subsidies for people who buy insurance through Obamacare marketplaces and reversing nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts and coverage restrictions set to take effect in January.
Modern Healthcare: Here’s What to Expect on Healthcare From a Democratic Congress
- “Democrats will drive the healthcare policy agenda next year after a historic blue wave on Election Day…The incoming Democratic majority is expected to push for issues such as repealing the Medicaid cuts President Donald Trump enacted in the 2025 tax law and reviving the enhanced subsidies for health insurance exchange plans.”