Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

"Health care is an individual human right of every American, not a special privilege reserved for the select few." -- Stephanie Murphy

Health care costs continue to be one of the biggest burdens on families and seniors in central Florida, which is why one of Stephanie's top priorities will be to help bring down the costs of health care for families, seniors and businesses.

And, at a time when women's health care is under attack in Washington, Stephanie will protect access to women's health care and protect women's rights to make their own private health care decisions free from government intrusion.

For too long, partisan politics have crippled our ability to have meaningful, substantive discussions on health care reform in this country. Stephanie has always been more focused on results than political games, and she will work with both Democrats and Republicans to drive down the costs of health care and ensure more families have access to adequate care.

While the Affordable Care Act isn't perfect and should be reformed, it has helped countless families. It has allowed people with pre-existing conditions to find affordable health care and young people to stay on their parents' plan until they are 26. It's reduced the costs of health services for women, prohibited health insurance companies from canceling your coverage when you get sick, ended lifetime benefits caps for people with major illnesses, and extended maternity coverage for women.

It is irresponsible and reckless to repeal the Affordable Care Act without offering any alternative solution to replace it. To do so would pull the rug out from millions of families and go back to the days when insurance companies ran the table.

Instead, Stephanie believes Democrats and Republicans should work together to improve the law and to continue to find ways to decrease costs and increase access to health care across our country. First, Stephanie believes we need more support for small businesses, including a tax credit to better afford coverage and exempting more small business from the health insurance mandate by adjusting the threshold from fewer than 25 employees to fewer than 50 employees. Then, we should repeal the excise tax on middle-class health plans and repeal the tax on medical devices. Finally, we should encourage states to expand Medicaid under the law who haven't yet done so, like here in our state of Florida.

Stephanie has also called for Congress to immediately increase funding to help Florida fight the Zika virus and to help find a cure and vaccine as soon as possible. She will also work to secure more resources to fight drug addiction, especially opioid and heroin addiction, and to improve mental health care with a greater emphasis on early intervention and treatment.

Finally, Stephanie will fight tooth-and-nail to protect Medicare for our seniors, standing up against Republican attempts to privatize the program, raise the eligibility age, or to cut benefits.

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