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Mike Pence

Mike Pence voted against Obamacare,has been one of the loudest voices calling for Planned Parenthood to be defunded, and has advocated sending HIV prevention funding to conversion therapy. But when one Indiana county had a major HIV outbreak after itsPlanned Parenthood officewhich was the countys only HIV testing centerclosed, guess what Pence did?

Yup, he realized that HIV prevention might be worthwhile and relied on a thing he voted againstObamacareto fix a problem that had been made worse by a thing he championeddefunding Planned Parenthood. And Politico is giving him credit for taking action to fix the problem while barely mentioning the ways his policies contributed to it to begin with.

In 2015, as a rash of HIV infections spread through rural southern Indiana, state health officials parachuted into Scott County and enrolled scores of people into Obamacare's expanded Medicaid program so they could get medical care and substance abuse treatment. Many were addicted to opioids and had contracted HIV by sharing dirty needles. [...]

His health department relied heavily on the program to respond to the HIV crisis in southern Indiana. Officials set up a one-stop-shop, next to a free needle exchange, in the tiny, impoverished town of Austin, and offered hot meals, HIV screenings, vaccinations and assistance to help people enroll in insurance many for the first time through HIP 2.0 [Indianas version of Medicaid expansion].

Within a month, about 168 people were approved for the program, according to figures provided by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. About 2,280 people in the Scott County are currently enrolled, many of whom are now getting substance abuse treatment.

But even though hes had direct experience with how Obamacare can not only help individuals but address a public health crisis, Pence remains committed to repealing it and kicking all those people off of their health coverage.

Read more:
Mike Pence wants to repeal the law he used to fix the HIV outbreak his policies helped cause - Daily Kos