N.C. Senate GOP nominee calls for Obamacare repeal

May 9 2014

In Massachusetts, former CMS chief Dr. Don Berwick's campaign for governor calls for single-payer care, and Democratic candidates in Maryland's race for governor clash over the insurance exchange.

Los Angeles Times: Thom Tillis' North Carolina Win Is A Victory For A Redefined GOP
Tillis, though, is hardly a bipartisan pragmatist in the old-school GOP style. He is a conservative leader who, according to his campaign, wants to "shrink" government, believes "the traditional family is the bedrock of America's culture" and calls Obamacare a "cancer" that needs to be repealed. Under his watch, the North Carolina statehouse has enacted strict voting laws and refused to expand Medicaid under Obama's Affordable Care Act (Mascaro, 5/7).

The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Obama's Former Medicare Chief On Why He Wants To Bring Single-Payer To Massachusetts 
Don Berwick -- who, as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, oversaw large chunks of the early implementation of the Affordable Care Act -- is trying to shake up the health policy world again. He ran CMS from July 2010 to December 2011, and left because Senate Republicans blocked his confirmation to lead the agency permanently. Now, more than two years later, he is a long-shot Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts and the heart of his platform is a single-payer health plan (Millman, 5/7).

The Associated Press: Gansler, Brown Clash Over Health Care 
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Attorney General Doug Gansler clashed over Maryland's rocky health care exchange rollout in a Democratic primary debate Wednesday night in the state's governor's race. Del. Heather Mizeur stayed out of the fray, standing in the middle of the two men and focusing on her own plans. Gansler kicked off the debate by criticizing Brown, who led the state's health care reform rollout that was plagued with problems (Witte, 5/7).