Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

The three essential components at the core of the health care law are 1) access, 2) affordability and 3) quality of care.

When elected, I will support policies that:

Make prescriptions affordable and provide a broader selection of preventative health screenings.
Allow our physicians to decide what is medically necessary rather than employers or health insurance companies.
Provide patient advocates when commercial health insurance companies or government payers wrongfully deny claims for payment.
Expand towards universal healthcare coverage.

Affordable Healthcare and Medications

The reality reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation is that 3 out of 10 Americans do not take their medications as prescribed due to cost.* The fact is, the US Congress can pass legislation to make drugs affordable so people can live a healthy, vital life.

We simply can't afford to continue to elect representatives that ignore the financial burden and drain on economic vitality caused by astronomical medication prices. Why should the rest of the world's population pay less for common basic prescriptions, while Americans are left out of the savings?

This is unacceptable, and my opponent does nothing.

As a candidate for the House of Representatives, I want to assure you that I support proposals to reduce the cost of medications for Americans. The United States has the third largest population in the world and we must use our country's combined strength to its full advantage to obtain affordable pricing of common basic prescriptions. If you have private insurance, Medicare or are uninsured, you deserve a representative who will stand up for a fair price for your medications. I want you and your family to be healthy.

*Source: KFF health tracking poll, February, 2019.

Universal Healthcare Coverage and a Public Option
I support universal healthcare coverage. Personally, I would love to buy into a public health insurance option rather than continue to pay my astronomically high deductible plan premiums so that another CEO can receive $20 million in compensation per year. Our current health insurance system is unsustainable.

I support a federal public option with income-based premiums rather than premiums based on health or claim history. Reimbursement rates to providers for services should be calculated with a population density component to ensure access to providers in rural areas.

I would support modifying ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) to allow private sector health plans to enroll their employees in the federal public option as their opt-in employee option. Some employers have more generous coverage to attract employees and I believe they should have that option. Some employer plans cover IVF or bariatric surgery or new cancer therapies, and it's understandable employees and employers want to keep this coverage.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us losing employment also means losing employer-sponsored health insurance. Many people have lost their health insurance during a time when they need it most. An affordable public option should be part of our sustainable future. COVID-19 has clarified that public health is linked to our national security and economic strength.

Patient Advocacy
I have spent over 6 years of my professional career as an attorney advocate for hospitals and their patients, recovering millions of dollars from insurance companies and government payers wrongfully withholding payment. Rather than resolving one case at a time, I want to be your representative in Washington to work on these fundamental problems.

Medicare
Coverage needs to be understandable, and part of that is clarity and consistency. Most people don't realize that Medicare has been privatized into 12 MAC regions, and depending on which region you live in, you may not receive the same treatment due to local coverage determinations vs. national coverage determinations.
Public Health & Rural Wisconsin
Rural areas are at a disadvantage, specifically rural women and families. Twenty of Wisconsin's 75 counties do not have an OBGYN. We need to find a way to incentivize or expand public health providers in rural areas.

While telemedicine offers options in many situations, it is not ready for important treatments, checks and assistance. We need to support workers and families in rural areas to help keep them vibrant and healthy.

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