"When people fall ill, we should help them get better. Most of us have experienced hard times. Many of us have gone without health coverage. When you lay all the heated rhetoric and legalese aside, the health care debate is really about what we're going to do when people get sick or injured. In America, we should take care of each other. It is irresponsible to force millions of Americans to delay treatment because they can't afford it, to live one broken leg or one chronic illness away from financial calamity."
– Congressman John Garamendi
Under the Affordable Care Act, we have seen America’s uninsured rate fall to the lowest levels in U.S. history. Millions of Americans now have access to quality health care. Seniors now have access to a free annual wellness check up to identify health problems early, and the Medicare Part D prescription drug donut hole will completely close by 2020, helping seniors afford life saving medications.
However, every law can be improved, and Congressman Garamendi wants to make America’s health care delivery system as effective as it can be. He supports:
- Additional incentives to keep hospitals and community clinics in rural and underserved communities
- Lower prescription drug costs in Medicare through the importation of drugs from countries with rigorous safety standards and by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices, making Medicare more solvent
- Increased enforcement of laws that crack down on medical fraud in public and private insurance
- Faster student loan forgiveness for primary care physicians willing to work in community clinics and underserved communities
- Implementing a national public option to increase competition and expand insurance opportunities in every community