Care for Aging / Sick
John Cornyn (R)
Cornyn co-sponsored the Improving Care Coordination for Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Act and has championed Older Americans Act reauthorization and the Lifespan Respite Care caregiver-support program funding. He supports Medicare Advantage expansion as the preferred private-sector alternative to public-option proposals and has consistently voted against converting Medicare into a public option. He has been a primary author of rural-hospital relief legislation targeting Texas closures. He opposes Social Security tax-cap elimination but has not signed onto direct benefit cuts and has supported solvency frameworks raising the retirement age gradually. He has voted against every recent Medicaid expansion proposal and supports converting Medicaid to a block-grant framework giving states more flexibility — and less federal funding growth.
Ken Paxton (R)
Paxton's Senate campaign issues page does not have a dedicated seniors, Medicare, or Medicaid plank. He sued the Biden administration in 2024 to block CMS minimum staffing rules for nursing homes, arguing they would force rural facilities to close due to a 10,000-worker shortfall. He won a federal ruling in Sept. 2025 striking down a CMS rule expanding federal oversight of state Medicaid funding. He has long opposed the ACA and has not commented publicly on the enhanced premium tax credit expiration that disproportionately affects near-elderly adults age 50-64. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country and has not expanded Medicaid; Paxton has not used his platform to advocate for expansion.
Sources
- Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, official campaign issues page, accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Sen. John Cornyn, official Senate website and 2026 re-election campaign issues page, accessed May 2026 (cornyn.senate.gov; johncornyn.com). (full list)
- Gabby Birenbaum, 'On the issues: A Q&A with Ken Paxton and John Cornyn,' Texas Tribune, April 20, 2026. (full list)
- Texas Attorney General, 'Sues Biden Administration Over Rule That Could Force Rural Nursing Homes to Shut Down,' Aug. 2024. (full list)
- Texas Attorney General, 'Secures Victory Protecting the Integrity of States' Medicaid Programs,' Sept. 2025. (full list)
- Cornyn votes on ACA repeal-and-replace (2017 skinny repeal, BCRA, Graham-Cassidy); Cornyn as co-sponsor of Health Savings Account expansion; statements on Medicare/Medicaid block grants; opposition to enhanced premium tax credit extension (2025). (full list)