Increase Access to Doctors & Hospitals

Healthcare is a basic human need and human right. No one should be forced to choose between affordable healthcare and other necessities like food or housing. No one should be forced into bankruptcy because of needed medical treatment and care.

But foolish, short-sided policies have placed healthcare out of reach for millions of us.  We deserve better.

In Congress I will support policies and legislation that will:

• Reduce the cost of insurance, medications, and treatment, and increase access to local healthcare providers like OB/GYNs, specialists, and therapists.

• Restore funding to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.

• Increase enrollment in college and university programs to relieve shortages of critical healthcare providers such as nurses, physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), physician’s assistants (PAs), Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and doctors (including specialists).

• Increase funding for rural residency programs that would increase the number of residents trained in rural areas.

• Restore funding for medical research on cancer; vaccines; and chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, ALS, dementia, and autoimmune disorders.

• Increase funding (e.g. Community Long-term Care) to provide respite to caregivers of disabled children and adults, or for those with chronic conditions like dementia and heart disease.

• Resume reliable data collection on all communicable and chronic diseases, reporting the results accurately and publicly.

• Restore staff and budget cuts to the Veterans Administration (VA), particularly those eliminated with DOGE (which has led to physicians quitting the VA).

• Standardize the audit procedure for Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) providing service under Medicaid and Medicare Advantage programs.  Stop MCOs from clawing back funds from providers on clerical errors or other minor technicalities (a common profit-maximizing tactic that discourages providers from accepting patients with Medicare and Medicaid insurance).

• Increase the number of providers that take Medicare and Medicaid by making some of the requirements standard and universal across all Medicare and Medicaid plans (including MCOs).

• Lower the enrollment age for Medicare to 64 next year. In subsequent years lower it further.

• Lower prescription drug prices.

• Improve access for small business owners to have health care for themselves and their employees.