The GOP lost because of fraud.
You are exactly right. This healthcare nonsense is a smoke screen covering a supposedly legit election which we know it wasn’t.
In Virginia, which has voter ID, repubs lost 3 or 4 seats. The pubs were outspent 3 or 4 to 1 and hammered incessantly with ads about pre-existing conditions aren't covered by repubs. The response consisted of Trump using 20 seconds during an hour rally to reassure everyone that republicans will cover pre-existing conditions and a few ads.