Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Health Care in the 28th District of Texas

The 28th District of Texas faces unique health care challenges. The district has a large number of residents who live in medically underserved minority and rural communities. Our communities also have a large number of children and parents who are either uninsured or underinsured. In fact, 24.8% of all Texans do not have health coverage today, including 1.5 million uninsured children in the state.

While in the Texas Legislature, Congressman Cuellar was the coauthor of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that has expanded coverage to hundreds of thousands of Texas children. Since coming to Congress, Congressman Cuellar has been working to support America's health care system through legislation and federal grant opportunities. He is a strong supporter of our community health clinics and those medical centers which play a vital role in delivering health care, primary care and preventative care to our region.

There are several unique and significant health concerns among people in South Texas, such as diabetes, obesity, tuberculosis, and cancer. Congressman Cuellar is working to address and raise awareness for these prevalent health concerns in our region. In 2009, he started work on a WIC (Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children) pilot program to include glucose screening as part of the national nutrition program. Glucose screening is a critical first step in detecting juvenile and adult diabetes.

As you know, thousands of elderly Texans rely on Medicare to safeguard their physical health during their retirement years. Congressman Cuellar is committed to strengthening Medicare for our seniors and will ensure that the federal government honors that obligation.

Source