- Nearly every single candidate has taken donations from the healthcare industry.
- Many candidates have pledged to not take donations from healthcare CEOs and lobbyist.
- Healthcare has become a key issue for the 2020 elections.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With the 2020 election in full swing, we will take a peek at who is accepting donations from the healthcare industry.
One of the biggest issues in the 2020 Presidential election is healthcare. Healthcare satisfaction is low and many plans to vote based on a candidates healthcare plan. But are candidates trying to help voters or big drug and insurance companies?
This is part of the reason why looking into campaign donations is important. You will want to see if there is a conflict in interest with any given candidate. Thanks to OpenSecrets, we can see who is accepting donations from the healthcare industry.
Almost all of the presidential candidates have accepted money from the healthcare industry. Sen. Bernie Sanders is number five with the most accepted healthcare industry donations. Sen. Sanders has accepted $359,986 from the healthcare industry.
What is interesting about this is Sen. Sanders has an ongoing pledge right now. The pledge states that he will not accept donations from big pharmaceutical or insurance CEO’s. And he hasn’t. The donations came from workers in these companies and health professionals, such as nurses and doctors. On Bovada, Sen. Sanders has +700 election odds to become the Democratic nominee. Sen. Sanders has +1400 to win the 2020 elections.
Joe Biden is number four with the most accepted healthcare industry donations. Biden has been very critical about Medicare for all. He claims that it is too expensive, and he wants to expand on the Affordable Care Act. Biden has accepted $462,335 from the healthcare industry. Biden has +275 odds of becoming the Democratic nominee. Biden currently has +500 odds to become the next President.
In third is Sen. Kamala Harris. There has been some criticism with Sen. Harris for her shifting positions about Medicare for All. Sen. Harris says she supports it, but she does not want to get rid of health insurance companies. This is a different position than what she had initially said. Sen. Harris has accepted $517,430 in healthcare contributions. Sen. Harris has +300 odds of becoming the Democratic nominee. Sen. Harris also has +700 odds of winning the 2020 elections.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in second for most accepted healthcare contributions. He has taken $548,014 from the healthcare industry. Buttigieg has taken criticism for accepting donations from big pharma CEO’s. But he has said he would not accept any more of those donations. Buttigieg has +700 odds to become the Democratic nominee. Buttigieg currently has +1400 odds to win the 2020 elections.
President Trump has accepted more money from the healthcare industry than any other candidate. President Trump has taken in $1.4 million in healthcare contributions. This is despite the fact that he has been critical of the increasing drug prices around the country. Unlike many Democrats, President Trump has not taken a pledge to not accept money from CEOs. His campaign is not worried about potential conflicts of interest.
Being the incumbent President, Trump has the best election odds out of anyone else. President Trump currently has -110 odds of winning the 2020 elections.
Voters are increasingly becoming more aware of where campaign donations are coming from. Some voters do not believe that a candidate can accept donations from the healthcare industry and promise to change things. We will see in the future if these campaign contributions influence the elections or change a candidate’s position.