Health-care reform has become a central issue in the Congressional District 1 race, but the discussion rarely dives into details.

Republican Andy Tobin and his conservative backers have been attacking Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick for her support of Obamacare.

Fact: Ann Kirkpatrick voted for Obamacare, even though a majority of our district opposes the law, says a post on Tobins Facebook page.

Policies are being canceled, premiums are going up, patients are losing their doctors. Still, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick supports Obamacare, says an ad paid for by Americans for Prosperity.

But its been a year since the botched rollout, and while Kirkpatrick has been forced to defend her votes, shes also been pointing to positive outcomes of the Affordable Care Act and turning the criticism to Tobin.

He fought Medicaid expansion, and 21,000 people in my district just signed up for Medicaid, Kirkpatrick said on the Buckmaster Show, a Tucson news radio program.

That number comes from a Democratic staff report from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that lists the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Using the numbers and saying, You may not like it, but its working, is the best defense Kirkpatrick has, said Democratic strategist Bob Grossfeld, owner of The Media Guys, a Phoenix communications firm.

But thats not going to stop the attack ads with this lingering Obamacare is evil message designed to equate Kirkpatrick with an unpopular president and to fire up the Republican Partys base voters, he said.

Greg Vigdor, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, said he understands what campaigns are trying to convey, but they dont really say what the expansion of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the states Medicaid program, was all about. He said it was really about using federal dollars to restore coverage to a population the state covered in the past.

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Health care a primary battlefield in Congressional District 1