Issue Position: Accessible and Affordable Healthcare

Issue Position

Apart from the complex issue of providing healthcare for the millions of uninsured and underinsured in our country, many of the rural areas in the 2nd Congressional District suffer from a lack of nearby medical facilities and personnel. I will work for increased funding for rural healthcare so that women do not have to fly off-island to give birth and veterans can get their VA health care from local healthcare facilities in a timely fashion.

Approximately 14 percent of Hawaii's residents are 65 or older (American Fact Finder, U.S. Census). Many of them are on fixed incomes. The higher cost of prescription drugs hits this group particularly hard. The Republican leadership in Congress and the Bush Administration, rather than supporting a health care system that works for families, favors a system that caters to the special interests of the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. I will join Democratic leaders in fighting for common sense measures such as allowing drug re-importation and permitting Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

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