Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer is endorsing former President Donald Trump for reelection. Mr. Colyer made his statements in favor of the former President in a Newsweek column, following his visit to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Mr. Colyer offered his endorsement based on the former President’s promise to lower health care costs and drug prices, facilitate speedier medical treatments, as well as tackle the overdose epidemic and protect Medicare, Kansas Reflector reported.
According to Mr. Colyer, President Trump’s health policy accomplishments during his time in office have been largely ignored by many Americans. He said that a new term in office would see President Trump protect millions of Americans from spending cuts in Medicare.
“As a physician, cancer survivor and former governor, I’m endorsing Donald J. Trump for president. The biggest reason why is for all that he will do to fix health care in America,” he wrote.
Mr. Colyer succeeded Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback following the latter’s resignation in 2018 to serve as U.S. ambassador at-large for international religious freedom. He had previously served as lieutenant governor for Mr. Brownback for seven years.
After having served in the post for one year, he sought a full term as governor in 2018 with endorsement of former GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole, but ultimately lost to Kris Kobach in the August primary contest, who was endorsed by President Trump the day before the election.
Mr. Colyer asserted that under a new Trump term, Americans would see the prices of pharmaceuticals drop significantly, adding that President Trump would also focus on price transparency in the U.S. health care system, and fix deficits in the Affordable Care Act.
He added that without accurate information, Americans would not be able to make decisions associated with medical expenditures.
“We need to allow patients and their doctors, not bureaucrats, to determine health care decisions,” he said.
He also voiced his support for President Trump based on his immigration policies, saying that the American people deserve a president who is committed to securing the nation’s borders and ending the fentanyl opioid crisis, which has spiraled out of control in recent years.
Mr. Colyer also said that President Trump would remove any red tape relating to research and development of new and alternative medical treatments.
“From the vantage point of someone who experienced every side of the health care equation, there is no question that President Trump has the best track record on healthcare,” he wrote. “And, now, he could become the most transformative health innovator in our lifetimes.”
Rural health care would also improve under a second Trump presidency, according to Mr. Colyer, who noted, “Almost a third of Americans live in rural areas.”
“President Trump saved hundreds of small rural hospitals from collapse during the pandemic. Now is the time to focus new technologies and new solutions so that every rural American can also live their dreams.”
The former President previously pledged to lower health care costs during his 2016 presidential campaign and ensure adequate Medicare funding.
At the start of the pandemic, President Trump expressed that he was very much in favor of alternative treatments for COVID-19, such as UV light and Hydroxychloroquine. The former President was heavily criticized in legacy media for promoting these treatments, despite emerging evidence of their efficacy.