Brown talks health care in Ironton stopcare stop
Democrat seeks return to U. S. SenateHealth care was the focus of the discussion when former U. S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a visit to Ironton on Tuesday. Brown, who is seeking a return to the Senate,. . .
Democrat seeks return to U. S. SenateHealth care was the focus of the discussion when former U. S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a visit to Ironton on Tuesday. Brown, who is seeking a return to the Senate, made a stop at The Armory Smokehouse, where held a discussion on the topic with a table of health care professionals from across the southern part of the state. He questioned the group about their concerns in the field, including Medicaid cuts stemming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2025. Brown said of the bill’s moniker “it surely was not,” and said his opponent, Republican incumbent U. S. Sen. Jon Husted, has served as “the deciding vote” in its passage. “His vote was the determining factor for more pressure on rural health care,” Brown said. “It will lead to more rural hospitals closing it will lead to denial of care, whether it’s dentists, emergency rooms or behavioral and mental health services. ”Email newsletter signupOther topics touched on were the opioid epidemic and staffing cuts in the medical field. Those in the room said they were concerned about how hospitals will deal with cuts and said those in most vulnerable economic situations will be impacted. Brown also spoke of a local in Lawrence County he has stayed in touch with over the years, a retired bus driver for Rock Hill Local Schools. He said after her retirement, she had received a pension that did not meet her needs. Brown said his last vote in the Senate before leaving office was for the Social Security Fairness Act, which eliminates reductions in Social Security benefits for public servants, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters, who also receive pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security. As a result, he said it more than quintupled what she received and immensely helped her. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic nominee for U. S. Senate in Ohio, meets with health care professionals from the region at a stop at The Armory in Ironton on Tuesday. (Heath Harrison | The Ironton Tribune)Brown was asked what he felt was the most significant thing he learned from the discussion. He cited his final question to the group, in which he asked, despite difficulties they encounter in their fields, whether they would choose the profession again. “Everyone around that table who does health care, they said they’d do it again, because they love these communities and they love taking care of people,” Brown said. “But they just have less help from the state government and the federal government in how they can take care of people. ”Brown said the conversation he had in Ironton on health care echoed concerns he regularly hears in his discussions across the state. “Being here in this whole region, people feel betrayed,” Brown said. “They know the system’s rigged. They feel it’s getting worse and they see corporations making bigger and bigger profits and executives taking more and more money. ”Brown was asked by The Tribune about the leadership on health care at the national level, particularly that of U. S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , who faced major criticism his confirmation hearing and other appearances before Congress for pushing misinformation on vaccines, as well cuts to health agencies. “First, don’t engage in disinformation, which he’s done,” Brown said. “But, mostly, I think what is happening is more people are getting sick and fewer people are getting care, including here. They haven’t funded Medicaid, because the secretary of HH and the head of Medicaid services haven’t funded many hospitals in this area, particularly Memorial out of Marietta. So, it’s affected in a big way, direct dollars going for direct services here. ”Brown served three terms as U. S. senator, but was defeated for re-election in 2024 by Republican Bernie Moreno. Brown is challenging Husted for the state’s other Senate seat in the fall general election. Husted was appointed to the Senate in 2025 by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat when it was vacated by JD Vance, who was elected as U. S. vice president. Forecasters have rated the race as a toss-up and expect it to be a major battleground for control of the Senate in the midterms. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.