Seeking to capitalize on SCOTUS ruling, Andy Barr raises $10,000 from online fundraiser Thursday

Within a few hours of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, Republican congressional candidate Andy Barr issued an email entitled “I will repeal Obamacare” and collected more than $10,000 in online donations.

The amount pales in comparison to the most successful online drives by Kentucky candidates, such as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s money bombs from 2010. But Pat Melton, who is managing Barr’s campaign in the 6th congressional district, said it was the campaign’s most successful single day for an online fundraiser and said donations began around 11 a.m. — a half-hour after the ruling came down and three hours before the email blast went out.

Melton said most of the donations were between $15 and $250.

It was one of the first examples of how Republican candidates in Kentucky sought to capitalize on the health care ruling.

In Barr’s email blast to supporters, he pledged to “fully repeal this unworkable law and replace it with market-based, patient-centered reforms that will lower the cost of health insurance without growing government.”

Barr went on to itemize some of the components of an approach he would support, including:

• Allowing insurance companies to operate across state lines.
• Offering tax credits as a way to make health insurance more affordable
• Revamping medical malpractice litigation
• Expanding association health plans to include more small businesses and self-insured individuals to join those pools.
• Encouraging greater use of health savings accounts.

Barr faces Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles in a rematch of the 2010 campaign.

Chandler, who voted against the Affordable Care Act in 2010, said Thursday that the law has some positive components but wants to see Congress enact further health care reforms aimed at lowering the costs.