Mendoza, however, said that doesn’t come close to making up for the cuts in coverage.
That was borne out by a study done by KFF that looked at the $50 billion that is in HR 1 for rural health care. But KFF, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that analyzes health measures, said that falls short of the $137 billion that will be lost by rural hospitals, many of which already were considered to be in financially risky situations.
“It’s like bringing a glass a glass of water to a fire that you started,” Mendoza told Ciscomani.
Costs for consumers
The debate also comes at a time of rising costs for consumers and concerns about the economy. But Ciscomani sought to deflect the blame away from Republicans — and from Trump in particular.
“We’ve been 18 months into this administration trying to get out of the Biden inflation we had in the last four years before then,” he said.
“It hasn’t happened as fast as we all hoped it would have happened,” Ciscomani said. “Nevertheless, we are on that track.”
He said the key is Republican efforts, like H.R. 1, to tighten up federal spending, provide some tax breaks and provide tax incentives for businesses to expand.
Mendoza, however, said Ciscomani has repeatedly supported the tariffs that Trump has imposed, which have driven up the cost of goods and services. Ciscomani never addressed that issue during the debate.
War against Iran
Some of the current issues with inflation are directly related to the war in Iran and related events, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which have driven up prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. But the war came up only when the candidates were asked under what conditions they think American troops should be put in harm’s way.