Issue Position: Improve Health Care for the Valley

Issue Position

PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

The Affordable Care Act allowed more than 11 million Americans to finally be able to purchase affordable health insurance coverage. I am committed to providing materials to hospitals, small business owners and families in the San Fernando Valley, so everyone I represent understands the opportunities in the law, as well as the potential costs.

The California Health Benefit Exchange, Covered California, is online and ready to help you learn about this valuable tool for selecting private health insurance. In 2013 and 2014, I held events throughout the 29th Congressional District to help my fellow Californians find out how to sign up. Thanks to the hard work of my staff and the great people at Covered California, more than 1,000 Valley families now have affordable, quality health insurance.

Small Businesses
The Department of Health and Human Services has a section on healthcare.gov specifically designed for small businesses.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has also created a fact sheet for small businesses, detailing the key provisions in the Affordable Care Act that will affect small businesses. SBA has also put together a full presentation on the small business impact of the Affordable Care Act. Finally, SBA also maintains a Small Business and the ACA website.

PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING MEDICARE AND MEDI-CAL

One of the more important aspects of the Affordable Care Act was its impact on Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). The Medicare Trustees projected in late 2014 that the trust fund that finances Medicare's hospital insurance coverage will remain solvent until 2030, four years beyond what was projected in 2013. While Medicare solvency increases, the number of Californians in need who are covered by Medi-Cal has increased by more than 31 percent to more than 11 million. As has always been the case with Medi-Cal, a vast number of these benficiaries are children. More than 40 percent of those protected by our social safety net are Californian kids.

I will continue protecting Medicare and Medicaid in Congress, because without these incredibly important programs, millions of California families would return to a life where even the simplest medical procedure is impossibly expensive. Medicare and Medicaid are the backbones of the promise we have made to all Americans that our nation will not allow an American Dream to be extinguished by medical bills.

MEATLESS MONDAY

One way I am trying to encourage wellness among both my staff and my colleagues is by adopting Meatless Mondays. Meatless Mondays have been a great way promote the environmental and health benefits of consuming less meat. With that in mind, I even sent a "Dear Colleague" message to my fellow Representatives, urging them to join the global "Meatless Monday" movement.

Some of the nation's largest school districts, workplaces and public figures are signing up to start the week off by taking a day off from eating meat. Going meat-free means enjoying delicious vegetarian options at restaurants and trying out new recipes at home. My staff takes part in the Meatless Monday efforts by not only avoiding meat, but also posting favorite vegetarian recipes on various social media outlets.

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