No family should have to worry about affording a doctor when someone is sick.

Yet healthcare in America is a nightmare. Those of us with health insurance face skyrocketing premiums, unexpected costs and bills, and rules that make getting care almost impossible. Many of us are stuck in jobs we don’t want simply for the insurance. Tens of thousands of West Virginians have had no health insurance before COVID-19, and now even more have lost employer-based healthcare. Too many of us delay seeking medical care because we fear the bills or even bankruptcy. And the healthcare debt to pay for treatment of life-threatening diseases, surgeries, and rehabilitation forces many of us into bankruptcy. 

At the same time, health insurance CEOs are among the highest paid in the country. 

We can change this. We can guarantee healthcare to all Americans as a right, not a privilege. 

I support:

• Defending the Affordable Care Act, which has helped tens of thousands of West Virginia families by expanding Medicaid coverage.
• Going beyond the Affordable Care Act to establish a universal healthcare system in this country. This would give everyone access to healthcare (including dental and vision care) and the freedom to choose a provider without the burden of private insurance companies. Specifically, I support Medicare for All (H.B. 1384). Under such a system, the federal government would be able to negotiate to bring down the price of prescription drugs, just as Canada already does. 
• Enforcing anti-trust laws to break up large drug monopolies and prevent companies from unfairly jacking up prices because they control the market. Pharmaceutical companies that deliberately do this should have their patents revoked so that cheaper, generic versions of the drug can be produced.
• Greater federal funding to address the shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas of our state. Specifically, the National Health Services Corporation, which places health care providers in underserved areas and provides medical school loan repayment, should be expanded. We must ensure that the rural hospitals we have in the district receive sufficient reimbursement rates to continue serving our communities.
• Protecting and fully funding the Veterans Health Administration. The VA system continues to perform just as well, if not better, than the rest of the U.S. healthcare system, including in key areas like mental health. Yet the VA is threatened by ideologues who want to cut its funding to drive down the quality of service, as an excuse to privatize the VA system. Congress must ensure full funding and staffing for the Veterans Health Administration, and ensure that VA funds are not diverted to pay for private healthcare providers. The Community Care Network established by the MISSION Act should be separately funded and not at the expense of existing VA services.
• Funding for public health. Decades of underfunding for public health left us ill-prepared for the COVID-19 crisis. The Center for Disease Control’s budget, for example, has been cut by 10% over the last decade, leading to public health budget cuts and staffing shortages at the state and local level as well. I support restoring CDC funding and filling staffing vacancies so that our country can invest more in disease prevention and emergency preparedness.
• Medical debt forgiveness. Here in West Virginia, nearly a third of us have overdue medical bills, significantly higher than the national average. I support forgiving existing medical debt and moving to a single-payer Medicare for All system so that no American faces the threat of bankruptcy for seeking necessary medical treatment.