5th District Candidates Focus On Health Care In Virtual Town Hall

The two candidates vying for the open seat in Indiana’s 5th Congressional district met for a virtual town hall Tuesday night. 

Democrat Christina Hale and Republican Victoria Spartz have both served in the Indiana legislature.  Both pointed to their  bi-partisan work as a strength.

A top focus for the candidates was health care and the Affordable Care Act. Hale said people need options.

"There are things we must do to improve the ACA but during this pandemic as well," Hale said. "We must have a public option for those who have no health insurance."

Spartz says the ACA is broken.

"We need to stop funneling billions to special interest groups through Obamacare and let the state provide good flexibility for good options for the people," Spartz said. 

Watch the 5th District Congressional Town Hall

A majority of the questions for the candidates came from the community.  They also addressed the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration, election security and climate change.

When it comes to the pandemic, the candidates had different opinions.  Hale said she doesn’t think government response has been adequate.

"I think this pandemic has taught everyone that public health is in your personal interest and families need to be healthy and the economy needs healthy families," Hale said. 

Spartz said Indiana has responded well to the COVID-19 crisis.

"This is unprecedented but we are going to learn a lot of good lessons and provide better tools for the state," Spartz said. 

The 5th District seat is left open by Republican Susan Brooks who announced her retirement last year.