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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Times Opinion: Health care is the way for Democrats to win

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images / US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks following a failed vote in the US Senate over healthcare subsidies, during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 11, 2025. US Senators are voting Thursday on dueling health care plans that are both expected to be rejected, with millions of Americans facing soaring premiums and the issue poised to be a major flashpoint in next year's midterm elections. President Donald Trump has remained largely disengaged from Capitol Hill negotiations, according to lawmakers in both parties, reluctant to spearhead a major health care push and declining to endorse any proposal to extend expiring subsidies.
Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images / US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks following a failed vote in the US Senate over healthcare subsidies, during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 11, 2025. US Senators are voting Thursday on dueling health care plans that are both expected to be rejected, with millions of Americans facing soaring premiums and the issue poised to be a major flashpoint in next year's midterm elections. President Donald Trump has remained largely disengaged from Capitol Hill negotiations, according to lawmakers in both parties, reluctant to spearhead a major health care push and declining to endorse any proposal to extend expiring subsidies. Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images / US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks following a failed vote in the US Senate over healthcare subsidies, during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 11, 2025. US Senators are voting Thursday on dueling health care plans that are both expected to be rejected, with millions of Americans facing soaring premiums and the issue poised to be a major flashpoint in next year's midterm elections. President Donald Trump has remained largely disengaged from Capitol Hill negotiations, according to lawmakers in both parties, reluctant to spearhead a major health care push and declining to endorse any proposal to extend expiring subsidies.

When someone is sick in this country, they don’t ask for a politician. They ask for a doctor, a nurse or a therapist — a frontline health care worker. They look for someone they trust.

Right now, our country’s health care system is sick.

Families are anxious about their finances. Many are being forced to decide whether they can afford insurance this year. Seniors are skipping medications because of the cost. Rural hospitals are closing. Women are watching their reproductive rights disappear depending on what state they live in. And millions of Americans are seeing their health insurance premiums spike because Congress failed to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.

As a surgeon, I see every day what happens when policies and politicians fail patients. When people are in pain, they don’t want talking points. They want solutions. And they want leaders who understand what it means to sit with someone who is scared, hurting and out of options.

That is why health care is more than just another campaign issue. It is the clearest path through which the Democrats can win back control of Congress in 2026.