Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

More than anything, healthcare reform is a question of values. Do we value life and dignity for every person, regardless of wealth? Or do we value maximizing insurance executives' bonuses? With values as our guide, the rest falls into place.

Use federal dollars to expand Texas Medicaid.

As part of a political grudge match, Texas politicians are refusing to accept federal money to help more Texans get insurance coverage. We've already paid this money in taxes. It's our money. And yet Texas politicians refuse to accept the funds back into our state so that more people can be covered. Except for career politicians like Dwayne Bohac, this is an obvious choice: Accept our money back into the state. Expand coverage.

Require Texas insurers to cover pre-existing conditions.

Although the ACA requires this coverage at the federal level, politicians in D.C. are constantly threatening it. To provide greater peace of mind and continuity for Texans, require all insurers doing business in Texas to cover pre-existing conditions (and use the Texas Department of Insurance's rate-regulation tools to manage any resulting rate spikes). That way, whatever happens in Washington, Texans will know their pre-existing conditions remain covered.

Shut down abusive nursing homes.

Texas has the worst nursing homes in America, earning an "F" from the AARP. It's beyond shameful the kind of abuse that senior citizens face there. Did you know that, while you're required to carry insurance on your car, Texas doesn't even require nursing homes to carry insurance to cover the costs of them injuring or killing patients? As State Representative, Adam will lead the fight to (1) require that nursing homes carry insurance coverage, (2) let families sue nursing homes that hurt or kill loved ones, and most important (3) require prison terms for nursing-home executives who repeatedly violate health and safety laws. This is a moral crisis, and we're done messing around.

Stop the maternal mortality crisis.

Texas has an unacceptably high rate of mothers who die as a result of childbirth complications. We don't need more "blue ribbon commissions" to tell us there's a problem--we need to correct the fact that nearly one third of Texas mothers are uninsured. With rural hospital closings and less funding for pre-natal care, the problem will just keep getting worse. Let's put our money where our preaching is; if the Texas legislature really cares about the health of pregnant mothers, let's make sure they can access quality healthcare regardless of income.

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