During his short time in the Senate, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance has made his opposition to abortion access and transgender health care well known — but all the while the Ohio Republican has been quietly introducing and supporting bills to try to shape America’s public health apparatus.
Vance has been in the Senate for less than two years. He doesn’t serve on any major health care committees of jurisdiction, although he is the fifth of six Republicans on the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
But his health policy interests are wide-ranging. He’s taken an interest in curbing opioid addiction, drawing inspiration from his background as the son of an opioid addict, an experience he wrote about in his autobiography “Hillbilly Elegy.” He’s also expressed interest in limiting health care access for undocumented immigrants and immigrants who came here illegally as children and increasing personal autonomy in health care.
