Ohio Senate Race: $500 Million Battle Over Health Care Costs

Ad spending in the Ohio U.S. Senate race hit a milestone this week, surpassing $500 million, according to the tracking site AdImpact. The figure includes future reservations and marks one of the most expensive political contests in the country.

The money is flowing into a debate centered on the rising cost of health care. Premiums for private health insurance in Ohio are expected to rise by more than 10%, per data from healthinsurance.org. Meanwhile, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio reports that Affordable Care Act marketplace plan premiums jumped by an average of 18% this year.

These price hikes have coincided with a sharp drop in enrollment. In February 2026, more than 161,000 fewer Ohioans were signed up for ACA marketplace plans compared to the same period a year earlier. That represents a decline of 32.4%. The drop followed the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies at the end of 2025, which increased costs for many consumers.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted has targeted his Democratic opponent, Sherrod Brown, in recent advertisements. An ad from No Going Back PAC aired in October, alleging that Brown protected big insurance profits for decades. The ad describes Brown as a shill for the industry and claims he received hundreds of thousands of dollars from them.

The campaign argues that Brown took $240,000 from major insurance companies in exchange for supporting policies that benefited them. The ad states that this money is a shame for Ohio, though the claim lacks independent evidence.

Brown is fighting back with his own numbers. In a video posted to his Facebook page in August, he accused Husted of voting nine times against efforts to lower health insurance premiums. Brown claimed Husted accepted $700,000 from the same insurance companies that are now raising premiums in the state.

The candidates also disagree on the long-term impact of recent federal changes. Last December, Brown stated that 490,000 Ohioans will lose health care coverage over the next decade. He cited the end of ACA subsidies and changes to Medicaid as the primary drivers. Brown said those who have lost coverage could fill Ohio Stadium five times over.

Husted countered in an interview that he is trying to fix mistakes made during Brown's time in the Senate. Husted said he is working across party lines to renew the premium tax credit while eliminating fraud. He argued that taxpayers are tired of fraud in the health care system, particularly for working people.

Prescription drug prices are another flashpoint. At a campaign stop in Steubenville in August, Brown called for a cap on drug prices, similar to the recent limit on insulin for Medicare patients. He suggested the government should negotiate prices like the Department of Veterans Affairs does, so Ohioans do not pay more for a pill than they would in Canada.

Husted has sponsored a bill to modernize the process for selling prescription drugs over the counter, which he says would lower prices. He also pointed to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes anti-fraud requirements. Husted said the law requires states to check eligibility more frequently, a move he estimates will save billions of dollars.

More than three million Ohioans currently rely on Medicaid. Advocates warn that changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill could remove more than half a million people from those rolls. Husted has praised the economic benefits of the act, while Brown says his opposition to it was a key reason he decided to run for the Senate again.