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Husted Has Taken Nearly $700K From Health Insurance Companies Raising Rates In Ohio

Columbus, Ohio — Today, Ohio patients, small business owners, and health care providers rallied outside Jon Husted’s Columbus office to call out his refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits and lower health care costs — resulting in as many as 120,000 fewer Ohioans signing up for coverage through the marketplace.

This comes as new reporting reveals Husted’s close ties to Ohio’s insurance industry, taking nearly $700,000 from insurance companies and executives that are directly raising rates on Ohioans. This includes at least $75,000 from Centene, a company that was forced to pay the state of Ohio $88 million in damages for committing Medicaid fraud.

“This year more than half a million Ohioans had their insurance costs skyrocket, causing over 120,000 to go without. People are making tough choices between heath care and basic needs. This is a direct result of Jon Husted’s votes and his choice not to fight for people in Ohio,” said State Senator Beth Liston. 

“Our healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and Senator Jon Husted has done nothing! In fact, he has actively made this tremendous health care issue worse by refusing to extend the ACA tax credits 9 times during Congressional voting! This is the insurance option that saved my life,” said Mindy Hedges, a Delaware County resident and Type 1 diabetic.

“As a nurse, I see the consequences of unaffordable health care every day — patients skipping medications or delaying care because of insanely high costs. We are tired of watching Jon Husted side with the big insurance companies over Ohioans. It’s time our politicians put people over profits,” said Catharyne Henderson, Ohio Nurses Association. 

“The Affordable Care Act tax credits were a lifeline to me and how I was able to afford insurance as a small business owner. Because Jon Husted sided with the big insurance companies over us, I won’t be able to afford health insurance this year. This is Jon Husted’s health care crisis,” said Melinda Carter, a Columbus small business owner. 

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Day 1 Trial Tracker: Husted Mentioned 21 Times

Columbus, Ohio — As the FirstEnergy bribery trial kicks off in Akron, one thing is already clear: Jon Husted is more deeply connected to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history than already known. 

On the very first day of proceedings, Husted was mentioned twenty one times, with his first mention coming less than twenty minutes after opening statements began. Husted is listed as a potential defense witness, underscoring how key his role was in the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to corporations while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

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

“The reason Jon Husted’s name keeps coming up in this trial is simple: he played a key role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal. From staying in constant communication with FirstEnergy executives to helping pass a billion dollar bailout that raised energy bills on families, Husted’s activities make it clear why he was FirstEnergy’s ‘golden boy.’ Ohioans deserve answers about how deep Husted’s ties go.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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Columbus, Ohio — New reporting from NBC 4 Columbus reveals that Senator Jon Husted has refused to support a ban on stock trading for Members of Congress and their spouses — even as he enriches himself by actively trading stocks while in office.

WATCH:

Transcript:

Colleen Marshall, NBC 4 Columbus: Financial disclosure documents show [Senator Husted] and his wife are invested in dozens of mutual funds and individual stocks, including for her, stock in Intel. As Lieutenant Governor, Husted was a driving force behind the effort to bring the chipmaker to Ohio. So is that the kind of potential conflict [proponents of a stock trading ban are] targeting?

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

“Jon Husted refuses to ban stock trading in Congress because he’s personally enriching himself while having access to insider information. While Ohio families are struggling to afford the basics, Husted is cashing in while in office. Ohioans deserve a Senator focused on making life better for them — not enriching themselves.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s corruption:

• Jon Husted has reported that his wife had investments of up to $15,000 in Intel Corporation.

• In a recent interview, Husted admitted to meeting with Intel about the status of the company’s Ohio manufacturing project, suggesting he had access to non-public information.

• As Lieutenant Governor, Husted was described as the “face of Intel in Ohio” and was responsible for helping finalize the deal to bring the company to Ohio.

• Husted’s refusal to crack down on corruption fits a clear pattern: siding with the wealthy while Ohio families struggle with skyrocketing utility, grocery, and health care costs.

• Husted has denied an affordability crisis exists at all, insulting Ohioans by telling them to simply “earn more” money and complaining their “work ethic is broken.”

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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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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:

• Jon Husted has voted 9 times against lowering premium costs for Ohio families and claimed the ACA tax credits have done “nothing to drive down the cost of health care.”

• 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.

• Ohio families are seeing their premiums increase by an average of $804 a year because Jon Husted refused to take action to extend the ACA tax credits.

• 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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