Key Races for Medtech: Fred Upton vs. Mike O'Brien for Michigan's 6th Congressional District

Republican Fred Upton, who is a U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 6th congressional district, has been a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act. On his website, he proclaims that he is “flatly opposed to any sort of healthcare overhaul that would add billions of dollars to our deficit, raise taxes, destroy jobs, and cause Americans to lose their current coverage.” He pledges to fully repeal the legislation and boasts his support for the life sciences industry and medical research in southwest Michigan.

Democrat Mike O’Brien, who is vying for Upton’s House seat, has criticized Upton’s healthcare politics and his attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “The fact of the matter is, since the 1980s when Congressman Upton went to Washington, until today, until 2010, the cost of healthcare delivery in this nation has gone up 10 times,” he says. “Congress has not stepped up to put a hand into this pot and try to fix it while prices in his time have escalated 10-fold toward now $2.6 trillion of our GDP.”

O’Brien describes the Affordable Care Act as “the first step” in healthcare reform, adding that “it’s not complete.” A former marine, O’Brien has a vision of improving healthcare by tapping efficiencies of scale across Medicare and Medicaid while stepping up efforts to constrain fraud and waste.