Health Care

Simple, Affordable Health Care for Everyone
My health care plan is based upon one fundamental assumption – that every American should have access to the same type of health insurance that members of the U.S. Congress enjoy. While we may not be able to get to full health care coverage overnight, we can make some real, concrete progress right away – and can start by preventing insurance companies from cherry-picking which people they cover.

Allow Every Citizen Over the Age of 55 to Buy Into Medicare
We currently have millions of uninsured Americans who do not receive health insurance through work and cannot afford to go out and negotiate a private insurance policy of their own. We can solve part of this problem right away by allowing every American over the age of 55 to buy into the Medicare insurance coverage at a fixed cost. This will allow millions of Americans to pay for their own health insurance and will help lower rates for everyone.

Allow Small Businesses to Buy into the Same Health Care Plan Members of Congress and Federal Employees Have
Like citizens aged 55 or older, small businesses have a hard time negotiating with health insurance companies for lower rates. Small businesses do not have the ability to leverage their purchasing power and thus pay more money for each health insurance policy. One way to fix this problem, without cost to the taxpayer, is to open up the federal employee benefit package to small businesses. Those small businesses would pay the same amount of money that the federal government pays for the same insurance.

Invest in Preventive Health Measures
Small businesses can also help cut the overall costs of health care insurance by adopting wellness programs that encourage exercise and preventive care, promote smoking cessation, and support other proven measures that cut health care costs. My small business health insurance program will include incentives such as tax credits for businesses that choose to provide coverage that encompasses cost-cutting wellness programs.

Pass Expansion of Children’s Health Insurance So Every Family Can Afford to Cover Their Children
Study after study shows that extending primary care health services to children saves money, and more importantly, helps improve the health and well-being of the future of our country. Yet millions of children still lack health insurance. This is not only inexcusable, but also a tragedy. Expanding the extremely successful Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is not just the right thing to do for New Mexico’s and the nation’s children, it will also help bring down the costs of health care for everyone.

Let the Government Negotiate Lower Drug Prices
When Congress passed the prescription drug benefit plan for seniors a few years ago, the drug companies made sure their bottom lines would thrive at the expense of Medicare beneficiaries. A provision in the law made sure the government is forced to pay retail rates rather than using its purchasing power to negotiate lower wholesale rates. We could cut costs right away if we required the government to use its purchasing power to negotiate lower prices in the Medicare prescription drug plans. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs saves billions of dollars each year negotiating with drug companies. Medicare should do the same thing.