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This Week in #OHGov: “I Believe It Was a Mistake”

Columbus, Ohio- It’s been another bad week for Vivek Ramaswamy. Here’s what you missed this week as this out of touch billionaire who calls Ohioans “lazy” and “mediocre” continues to prove he has no clue what working families are going through and would continue the same failed policies that have made life more difficult and expensive.

Vivek’s Medicaid Mistake:  Unearthed video showed Vivek Ramaswamy calling Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake,” despite the more than 3 million Ohioans who rely on these cornerstone programs to get healthcare and keep costs down. 

Just Make More Money: In a brand new social media blunder, Ramaswamy says that Ohioans struggling with rising costs should simply earn more money in a video posted yesterday. It’s on brand for the guy who called Ohioans “lazy” and mediocre, and shipped his business to Texas. 

Security Scandal: Ramaswamy’s personal security guard scandal continues to haunt him in the news after ARK Protection Group officially shut down earlier this week. Ohioans deserve answers about why Ramaswamy’s team waited weeks to fire their firm following his bodyguard’s late December arrest and why Ramaswamy and his team believe they are above the law.

Greenland > Greene County: While Ohioans struggle to make ends meet, Ramaswamy is spending his time doing Fox News hits about Greenland, 2,000 miles away from the state where he’s running for governor… which we guess isn’t that far when you can fire up the private jet at a moment’s notice! 

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WXVU: Ramaswamy called Medicare and Medicaid ‘a mistake.’ Was that a mistake?

Columbus, Ohio- After Vivek Ramaswamy was caught calling Medicare and Medicaid a “mistake,” a new analysis from Howard Wilkinson shows how Ramaswamy’s own revealing “mistake” shows that in addition to being deeply out of touch with Ohio’s working families, Ramaswamy would again work to raise costs and make the government work only for billionaires and special interests. 

READ: Analysis: Ramaswamy called Medicare and Medicaid ‘a mistake’ | Howard Wilkinson, WXV

  • Four little words on an Ezra Klein podcast, uttered in October 2024, are going to haunt Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate for Ohio governor, from now until the November election.
  • Asked by Klein whether or not he believed the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, were mistakes, Ramaswamy answered without hesitation.
  • “I believe they were,” said Ramaswamy, who was still months away from becoming a candidate for Ohio governor.
  • Millions of Ohioans, most of whom vote, will be most interested in hearing Ramaswamy’s views on the social safety net programs they benefit from each and every day.
  • But pre-candidacy Ramaswamy expanded on his views in the podcast, and, to date, hasn’t changed his mind, apparently. We wanted to ask him if he wanted to “revise and extend” his remarks, as they say in Congress, but his press handlers did not respond to requests for an interview.
  • So all we have is what he said to Ezra Klein in October 2024. Medicare and Medicaid were mistakes, he said, “particularly Medicaid, particularly the welfare state, without the work requirements attached to it.”
  • Three months after making these remarks, Ramaswamy spent a couple of weeks under Elon Musk and his DOGE budget-slashing effort (under which government spending actually increased).
  • Spurned by DeWine, Ramaswamy decided to run for governor instead, despite never having spent a day in state government.
  • Ramaswamy has sworn off posting on social media for the duration of his campaign — probably a wise move, since nearly every time he did, it backfired on him. Such as with his plan for a 365-day school year for kids — an idea so far out that even many Republicans called him out on it.

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ICYMI: Jon Husted Tells Struggling Ohioans to Fix Their ‘Work Ethic’

Columbus, Ohio — In case you missed it, Jon Husted insulted hardworking Ohioans last week, claiming that no one has a strong work ethic anymore.

Husted’s newest comments come as Ohioans are working harder than ever to get by. While families struggle with rising costs, Husted has repeatedly denied an affordability crisis exists at all — lecturing families to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

Read more:

American Journal News: Jon Husted tells struggling Ohioans to fix their ‘work ethic’

  • Republican Sen. Jon Husted said that Ohioans struggling to put food on the table may lack the work ethic needed to improve their situation.
  • He made the remark during a Jan. 16 interview with WOWO radio in Fort Wayne. He was discussing the Upward Mobility Act, a bill he authored that would empower some states to impose stricter work requirements on public assistance recipients.
  • “Our work ethic is broken,” Husted said. “We don’t have the work ethic in this country that we once had, and we literally have the federal government telling people we will give you more money if you stay home than if you go to work. That’s crazy.”
  • Husted’s remarks echo previous comments in which he advised Ohioans struggling with affordability to “earn more” and claimed rising costs were mostly a problem in blue states.

MeidasTouch News: Ohio MAGA Senator Jon Husted Says American ‘Work Ethic is Broken’

  • With Americans facing a graver and graver affordability crisis as prices go up and wages stay stagnant for working families, MAGA Republican Senator Jon Husted wants Americans to know they just aren’t working hard enough.
  • Husted said in an interview on a local radio program last week that American “work ethic is broken” and that federal relief payments for working families exist to incentivize Americans to be lazy.
  • American productivity has never been higher, and yet nearly three quarters of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. The majority of wealth in the United States is concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest 1% of the population.
  • The simple fact is: Americans are working harder than they ever have, but still can’t make ends meet because wages have not kept up with the cost of living. Meanwhile, MAGA Republicans like Husted are rewarding the top 1% with more tax cuts.
  • This is not Husted’s first time sounding incredibly out of touch. In December, Husted addressed Americans who were panicking about the cost of healthcare doubling and tripling because of Republicans killing Affordable Care Act subsidies, by telling people the solution was simply to “earn more.”

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NEW REPORT: Up To 120,000 Ohioans Lose Coverage Under Jon Husted’s Health Care Crisis

Columbus Dispatch: ‘Ohio saw the second-largest percentage decline in signups in the nation’

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting shows that 120,000 fewer Ohioans have signed up for  coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace compared to last year after Jon Husted refused to support extending the ACA tax credits and lowering health care costs.

Last year, Husted voted nine times last year against lowering health care premiums for Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, health care costs have skyrocketed for an estimated 583,000 Ohioans, forcing tens of thousands of Ohioans to forgo coverage altogether.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Because Jon Husted refused to act, 120,000 fewer Ohioans have health care through the ACA. Husted voted nine times against lowering premium costs, and now families across Ohio are paying the price — with fewer people insured and more people forced to go without health care.”

See For Yourself:

Columbus Dispatch: Fewer Ohioans enroll for ACA health care plans after subsidies lapse

  • The number of Ohioans getting health care through the Affordable Care Act dropped 20% after extra assistance for enrollees expired last year.
  • About 463,000 people have signed up for coverage this year, down 120,000 from 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 
  • Ohio saw the second-largest decline in signups by percentage behind North Carolina. Enrollment could dip even further throughout the year if people are unable to pay their premiums and lose coverage, according to KFF, a health care policy nonprofit.
  • The GOP-controlled U.S. House and Senate let the enhanced credits expire after the issue dominated the longest government shutdown in history.
  • As a result, Ohioans who use the marketplace could face higher costs. An adult in Franklin County earning $50,000 may spend $1,700 more on health care, according to estimates from KFF.

Read more about Husted’s Health Care Crisis:

  • When asked how best to help working families afford health insurance, Jon Husted said the ACA tax credits were “not the way to go about it.”
  • More than half a million Ohioans are seeing their healthcare premiums get more expensive or are forgoing coverage entirely after Jon Husted allowed tax credits that help families afford coverage to expire.
  • Instead of coming up with a solution to help lower costs, Jon Husted complained that Ohioans’ “work ethic is broken” and lectured families to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

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What Vivek’s Medicaid Mistake Means for Ohioans 

Columbus, Ohio- Last week, an unearthed video showed Vivek Ramaswamy calling Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake.” Here’s what Ramaswamy’s comments really mean for Ohioans.

  • More than three million Ohioans rely on Medicaid to afford healthcare, and nearly 20% of Ohioans use Medicare. Without it, working families will see their healthcare costs skyrocket and be forced to choose between putting money in their pockets and getting the healthcare they need.
  • 11 rural Ohio hospitals already rely on Medicaid to keep their doors open. Without them, families would be forced to drive greater distances for preventative care appointments and lifesaving emergency care.
  • 38% of Ohio children rely on Medicaid for their healthcare. Families will be forced to choose between skipping critical appointments and putting food on the table. 
  • Medicaid helps 63% of Ohio nursing home residents to afford the care they need. Without it, seniors and their families will be forced to pay higher out of pocket costs or sacrifice their health and safety to stay at home. 

“Vivek Ramaswamy has called Ohioans lazy, moved his business from Ohio to Texas, and says cornerstone healthcare programs that lower costs for millions of Ohioans were a mistake. Ohioans can’t trust him to fight for working families or keep them safe and healthy,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer.

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