Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt

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Elizabeth Woodruff drained her retirement account and took on three jobs after she and her husband were sued for nearly $10,000 by the New York hospital where his infected leg was amputated.

Ariane Buck, a young father in Arizona who sells health insurance, couldn’t make an appointment with his doctor for a dangerous intestinal infection because the office said he had outstanding bills.

Allyson Ward and her husband loaded up credit cards, borrowed from relatives, and delayed repaying student loans after the premature birth of their twins left them with $80,000 in debt. …

The three are among more than 100 million people in America ― including 41% of adults ― beset by a health care system that is systematically pushing patients into debt on a mass scale, an investigation by KHN and NPR shows. CONTINUED

Noam Levey, NPR News

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Michigan: Kelley leading GOP gubernatorial field after arrest

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley’s recent arrest by the FBI for his suspected involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol appears to have boosted his name recognition and favorability among GOP voters in Michigan, new polling conducted in the days following his arrest indicates.

Kelley was arrested June 9. In a June 10-13 poll conducted for the Detroit Free Press and our outstate polling partners by EPIC-MRA of Lansing, 17% named Kelley as their preferred candidate for the August primary to determine which Republican candidate challenges Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November. CONTINUED

Arpan Lobo & Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

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Will 2022 tell us about 2024?

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While no one knows exactly how bad this year will be for Democrats, every serious analyst recognizes 2022 is unlikely to be good for my party.

Whatever the precise outcome, too many will blithely assume that the 2022 results will yield significant insights into President Biden’s prospects in 2024. History makes clear that 2022 will tell us nothing about the outcome of the next presidential election.

In the eight worst midterms for the party in control of White House since 1938, the party holding executive power lost between 45 and 81 House seats. Two years later, that same party won reelection to the White House in more than half — five of the eight — cases. CONTINUED

Mark Mellman (Mellman Group), The Hill

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Fox News Poll: More voters put trust in Republicans to handle inflation, crime

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A large majority of voters say the economy is in bad shape. Two-thirds are pessimistic about conditions. Gas and grocery prices are a major problem for most families. And a growing number of voters feel they are losing ground financially. That’s the grim backdrop for the upcoming midterm elections, according to the latest Fox News national survey.

Forty-seven percent feel they are falling behind financially, up 20 points compared to last June. Some 42% are holding steady, while only 10% are getting ahead. CONTINUED

Dana Blanton, Fox News

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Fox News Poll: Voters voice strong support for gun reform

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After a series of recent mass shootings, the latest Fox News national survey shows bipartisan support for a range of gun reform laws, especially background checks on all gun buyers.

In general, a 56% majority believes that having tougher gun laws would reduce mass shootings in the United States, while 39% do not.

On specific gun proposals, voters are most supportive of requiring background checks on all gun buyers (88%) and improving enforcement of existing gun laws (84%). CONTINUED

Victoria Balara, Fox News

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Half of Americans now predict U.S. may ‘cease to be a democracy’ someday

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A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that most Democrats (55%) and Republicans (53%) now believe it is “likely” that America will “cease to be a democracy in the future” — a stunning expression of bipartisan despair about the direction of the country. …

At the same time, however, a large number of Americans seem indifferent to the high-profile hearings by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — an effort to get to the bottom of one of the most dramatic assaults on the democratic process in U.S. history. CONTINUED

Andrew Romano, Yahoo News

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