Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

The American health care industry must be reformed.

Since 1999, health insurance premiums have risen considerably faster than both the inflation rate and our wages. As a result of these rapidly escalating costs, increasing numbers of American families are being forced to go without the coverage they need to protect the health of their loved ones. Today, one in six Americans do not have health insurance and without this critical protection many families are only one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

issues_healthcareUninsured families are not the only ones being hurt by our current health care system. Rapidly escalating health care costs put American businesses at a significant competitive disadvantage versus global competitors located in countries with national health care systems and as a result good paying jobs are being lost.

I find it very troubling that we have the most expensive health care delivery system on the planet yet we have a lower life expectancy and a higher infant mortality rate than nearly every other major industrialized country in the world. We are certainly not getting what we are paying for.

Unfortunately, drug and health insurance companies have not offered constructive long-term solutions and are in fact currently spending millions of dollars every year on lobbyists dedicated to protecting the status quo and blocking meaningful health care reform.

In Congress I will stand up to the HMOs and drug companies intent on blocking reform and push an agenda that provides access to affordable, quality healthcare for every American.

I believe we need a member of Congress who is not beholden to the health care industry and their high priced lobbyists. We need a member of Congress willing to be an independent voice for us. It is time for change!

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