OHGov

Columbus, Ohio – As working families in Ohio are struggling to make ends meet as costs rise, Vivek Ramaswamy called Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake” and said Ohioans have only “perceived” rising costs. Earlier this week, Dr. Amy Acton joined David Pepper and Ohio healthcare providers to discuss the rising cost of healthcare.

Statehouse News Bureau: Candidates for Ohio governor talk about the cure for Ohio’s health care affordability 

• “Four out of ten births are on Medicaid. Three out of eight children receive their health insurance through Medicaid,” Acton said. Acton said 11 Ohio hospitals are in danger of closing, which she blames on Republicans in Congress and lack of affordable healthcare has hurt rural providers.

• “I keep hearing stories from Ohioans that they have to travel in many parts of the state now an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to deliver a baby or to have their kid’s cavity filled. I’m actually hearing stories that babies are being born roadside again,” Acton said.

Columbus Dispatch: Amy Acton, Vivek Ramaswamy spar over Medicaid, health care costs

• Ohioans are hurting from the cost of health care. Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat running to replace Gov. Mike DeWine, says she’ll work on a cure.

• Pepper said Ramaswamy’s comment shows a disconnect with Ohio voters who rely on these programs. “It’s quite clear that he’s someone who has no purpose for Medicaid and Medicare, and if you take that seriously, that (not) only doesn’t help the crisis, it makes it far, far worse,” he said.

Toledo Blade: Rising cost of health care top issue in Ohio, Acton says 

• Ohioans across the state are worried about the increased costs of housing, child care, energy prices, and property taxes — but one issue trumps all of those, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton said Tuesday.

• “The number one thing I’m hearing about … it’s the rising cost of health care that is really putting people over the edge in this state,” Acton said during a news conference outside the OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in downtown Columbus. She was joined by running mate David Pepper, former nurse Jan Lanier, and other supporters.

###

Columbus, Ohio – Ohioans are struggling more than ever with the high cost of living. But instead of doing anything to help lower costs, Vivek Ramaswamy called affordable care programs like Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake.

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW:

“Ohioans won’t elect a governor who can’t be trusted to fight for affordable healthcare,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy has made it clear he thinks affordable healthcare was a mistake and that’s what Ohioans will be thinking about when they head to the polls in November.”

While Ramaswamy calls Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake,” here’s what Ohioans are actually feeling:

• Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio cities rank among the most medically expensive, analysis finds
• Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans’ health insurance was expensive this year. It will cost even more in 2026
• Cleveland.com: 120,000 Ohio families lost health insurance this month. Here’s who to blame
• NBC4: Report: Ohioans paying more for healthcare without receiving proper value
• Signal Ohio: ACA health insurance plans surge in cost as subsidies for low-wage Ohioans are set to expire

###

Columbus, Ohio- On day one of his campaign, billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to eliminate income and property taxes. But while Ramaswamy’s scheme would mean a few extra dollars to fuel up his private jet, working families in Ohio could face a 20% sales tax on everything.

Vivek Ramaswamy said workers who are struggling to make ends meet should just earn more and that rising costs are only in Ohioans’ imaginations. But what’s not imaginary is Ramaswamy’s plan to make Ohioans pay a 20% sales tax on everything.

“Ohioans are already struggling to make ends meet after years of Republicans failing our state, and now Vivek Ramaswamy wants to make their lives even more difficult by slapping a 20% sales tax on everything,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Under Ramaswamy’s scheme, working families would be forced to figure out how to stretch their budgets even further while he cruises above them in his private jet, calls Ohioans lazy, and claims we’re imagining our costs are going up.”

Read more:

Cleveland.com: DeWine warns sales tax could hit 20% if property taxes abolished

• If a proposed constitutional amendment abolishing property taxes were to pass, Ohioans may see sales taxes skyrocket into the double digits, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday morning.

• “Sales tax could go up to 17, 18, 19, 20%, sales tax in the state of Ohio on products that you buy,” DeWine said. “So, it would be absolutely devastating.”

• DeWine also warned that policymakers could be forced to consider increasing income taxes to find new revenue as well.

Columbus Dispatch: Vivek Ramaswamy running for Ohio governor. Wants to end income, property taxes

• Ramaswamy in his speeches outlined some of his platforms. He pledged to eliminate both the income tax and property taxes, which make up more than half of the state’s tax revenue.

###

Columbus, Ohio – New reporting from Signal Ohio revealed Vivek Ramaswamy’s Super PAC Victors Not Victims took more than a quarter of a million dollars from IT Serve Alliance, then failed to refund the contributions until after Ramaswamy received backlash from online conservatives. 

In November 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy canceled a planned speech last minute at IT Serve Alliance’s annual conference in Puerto Rico following backlash from his own party over IT Serve Alliance’s support for outsourcing American jobs.

IT Serve Alliance contributed $100,000 to V-Pac on November 18th, 2025 and an additional $175,000 on December 1st, 2025. V-PAC then refunded all $275,000 in contributions on December 3rd, 2025, just two days after the controversy began. 

“Vivek’s allies’ willingness to accept more than a quarter of a million dollars from an organization that wants to outsource American jobs only to scramble to save face after getting caught proves once again Ohioans can’t trust Vivek Ramaswamy to fight for them,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “It’s on-brand for a candidate who calls Ohioans lazy and tells struggling families they’re just imagining the rising cost of living.”

###

Columbus, Ohio – Yesterday afternoon, billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy officially filed to appear on the ballot in the 2026 gubernatorial election. Here’s what Ohioans need to know:

• Ramaswamy called Ohioans lazy and mediocre in a bizarre social media rant that he still hasn’t apologized for more than a year later 

• He moved his business to Texas just months before announcing his run for governor.

• At a visit to a food bank in Dayton, Ramaswamy told hungry kids his solution to their problems was to learn to read faster. Months later in an Instagram video, he told struggling Ohioans that the solution to high costs is to just “earn more.”

• He agreed to keynote a conference for a trade association that supports outsourcing American jobs, only to pull out at the last minute after receiving backlash from his own party. 

• In an unearthed video, Ramaswamy called Medicare and Medicaid a “mistake” and refuses to answer questions about how he will lower skyrocketing health care costs for Ohioans.

• Finally, Ramaswamy said last week in a Fox News interview that the higher costs Ohioans are struggling to afford are only “perceived.”  Last year, Ohio families paid $1,532 more in expenses than in 2024.  

“Vivek Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire who Ohioans know they can’t trust to put our state first,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Whether it’s calling Ohioans lazy, moving his business to Texas, or saying that Medicare and Medicaid are ‘mistakes’ and rising costs are just in our imagination, Ramaswamy doesn’t understand the challenges Ohioans are facing, doesn’t care, and won’t lift a finger to lower costs for working families.” 

###