Issue Position: Healthcare is a Human Right

Issue Position

-Pass Medicare for All and ensure universal healthcare coverage
-Lower prescription drug prices and other inflated costs
-Protect women's health and expand access to reproductive healthcare

Healthcare is a human right -- and one's quality of care and access to treatment shouldn't be determined by their ability to pay.

Today, however, our healthcare system is broken and costs are totally out of control. Despite the real progress made through the passage of the Affordable Care Act, many people still don't have access to insurance or are just one medical emergency away from bankruptcy.

The price of insulin and other common drugs continues to rise. Patients are greeted with surprise medical bills after an emergency room visit. And higher and higher deductibles and co-pays are becoming the norm, even for those with good quality insurance.

I think the ultimate answer is a Medicare for All system, a high-quality plan for everyone. With streamlined systems to ensure lower costs, it would maintain quality and expand access, all while bringing costs down nationwide.

If the election doesn't allow a transition like that, there are still ways to improve health care, starting with undoing the Trump administration's sabotage of the Affordable Care Act.
In addition to lowering the age to join Medicare, we can also consider a public option. I was proud to support and vote for Washington's first-in-the-nation public option in the legislature, and a national public option would allow anyone to opt-in to high quality government insurance.

We need to take on big pharma and the out of control prices and CEO salaries at "non-profit' hospitals. It's time for the federal government to be able to negotiate drug prices for Medicare, for Americans to be able to import drugs from other countries, and to put an end to pharmaceutical price gouging.

Women's health must also be a top priority. As a former NARAL organizer, I've been on the front lines of the battle to protect access to reproductive health. I was proud to vote in support of the Reproductive Parity Act that has made Washington a national leader in ensuring reproductive care -- and we should do the same nationally, as well as eliminate the Hyde Amendment. While some states work to take away any access to safe reproductive health services, I will be an unwavering voice in Congress for protecting choice nationwide.

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