Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Patient-centered Affordable Health Care for You and Your Family

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the law of the land. The historic passage of this health care reform law in 2010 works to bring more transparency and accountability to the health care industry and ensure you and your family have access to the patient-protections and high-quality health care you deserve.

The law is already working to lower prescription costs for seniors, protect young adults from losing their coverage, and protect one in two Americans who suffer from pre-existing condition. And it's giving peace of mind to southern Minnesota families, like Lisa Wojcik's family:

"Our son Konnor, now 12, was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and had his first brain surgery when he was just 4-months-old. We quickly began to learn how expensive it would be to treat his long-term condition even though we had health insurance for him. After other diagnoses over time including visual impairment, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy, it became clear to us that we absolutely had to maintain health insurance coverage through one of our employers. Even with health insurance, we worried about lifetime caps and whether or not Konnor would be able to access affordable health insurance as an adult due to his pre-existing conditions. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, we definitely would not have been able to obtain private insurance coverage on our own due to Konnor's complex medical situation, which is no longer the case. Because of the Affordable Care Act, we are also assured that Konnor cannot be denied health insurance coverage in the future or have a lifetime cap on the ongoing medical care that he will need throughout his life. We are so thankful for the Affordable Care Act as it gives our family peace of mind."

Because of the patient-centered reforms and protections in the health care law, seniors will never again have to choose between buying groceries or filling their prescriptions; young adults won't lose their coverage the day after they've earned their diplomas; and you can no longer be discriminated against and denied coverage for having a pre-existing condition, like fighting and beating cancer or simply being a woman.

Click here for a fact sheet on how the law is working to provide patient-protections and better care for you and your family.

As I've always said, health care reform is a journey, not a destination. The Affordable Care Act isn't perfect and I am willing to work with anyone who is genuine in their attempts to improve the law. That being said, I will continue to fight reckless attempts to repeal these patient protections and put big insurance companies back in charge.

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