Healthcare

Healthcare is complicated and it’s OK for us all to admit that. Healthcare becomes more confusing for citizens when politicians are willing to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - and abandoning millions of insured Americans, along with coverage of pre-existing conditions - without any plausible replacement. It is well-documented the shortcomings and flaws with the ACA, but it is providing a mechanism for more and more Americans to have access to healthcare insurance. No doubt this debate can be confusing for many citizens. So, what do we do?

First, as a country and as fellow Americans, we must decide whether access to affordable and quality healthcare for every citizen is a basic human right, or just a privilege for the wealthy? We are human beings, which means during our lives we are all susceptible to injuries, illnesses, a diagnosis of a disease and as we grow older the aches and pains that come with aging. This debate will continue and there are numerous paths that have been proposed to resolve our healthcare dilemma. We must resolve this debate in a nonpartisan manner and ensure that ALL Americans have healthcare insurance.

Todd supports these HEALTHCARE policy initiatives:

  • Universal, affordable, quality healthcare IS a basic human right; no citizen should face the prospects of bankruptcy and financial ruin for needing the appropriate medical and healthcare services in order to live; healthcare insurance coverage for every citizen should not be a partisan issue – Democrats, Republicans, Independents – we all can get sick and need medical healthcare services; when we get sick, we are identified as AMERICANS, not by political party affiliation.

  • Supporting a healthcare system that is rooted in the principle that it exists to serve the citizens and not the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

  • Protecting the ACA in its current form with pre-existing conditions, improving the overall access and quality of care, reducing premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

  • Supporting proposed legislation for a Medicare-type public option that would be available on the exchange with the goal of a universal healthcare system through the expansion via either Medicare or Medicaid, as well as improving the Affordable Care Act and pre-existing conditions.

  • Fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs; life-saving medications must be available to those citizens who need them.

  • Protecting and strengthening Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; fighting against any attempts to weaken or cut these programs that seniors depend on and paid into their entire lives; opposing any attempts to pay for the $1.1+ trillion dollar debt linked to the 2017 tax cut to corporations and the ultra-wealthy by going after these critical social programs; Todd will always protect our hard-working men, women and families and senior citizens.

  • Supporting the full funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Insurance program; established to provide low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance. Funding for this program in the future should never be held hostage again with the threat of shutting down the federal government.

  • Rural communities across PA-13, as well as other areas, face challenges in access to quality healthcare; we must ensure that we improve healthcare access and availability and that our citizens are never forgotten.

  • Supporting efforts to make long-term healthcare insurance more accessible and affordable; as we are living longer, this healthcare coverage becomes more important.

  • Supporting and expanding universal access to prevention and treatment for mental illness and addiction; treatment and rehabilitation programs addressing the opioid crisis.

  • Supporting increased funding for medical research into the leading causes of death in America - heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases - at the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

  • Investing in maternal and infant healthcare programs to decrease the mortality rates and to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in urban and rural areas.