Pepperspectives

Talking Health Care Costs in Youngstown

Democratic lieutenant‑governor candidate David Pepper condemned Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy’s claim that Medicare and Medicaid are "mistakes" during a Youngstown news conference. Pepper highlighted that over 2.5 million Ohioans depend on Medicare and more than 3 million on Medicaid, arguing that dismantling these programs would raise costs for everyone. He warned that Ramaswamy’s stance is out of touch with Ohio voters’ needs amid already high health‑care expenses. Pepper also outlined policy ideas a Democratic administration would pursue, such as medical‑debt relief and prescription‑drug price transparency.