Health Care System Must be Improved, not Demolished

September 12, 2018 by Angie Craig
Health Care System Must be Improved, not Demolished

My mother raised my two siblings and me in a mobile home park. I watched her struggle over 10 years to make ends meet as she worked to complete her college degree. My grandmother moved three doors down and went back to work at 60 years old to help us. At times, our family went without health insurance, and the bills piled up after my sister got sick.

Like my mom, I worked hard to pay my way through state college. Eventually, I led a workforce of 16,000 employees as head of Global Human Resources for a major Minnesota health care manufacturer, where I oversaw our employer-sponsored health plans for thousands of Minnesotans. Through these experiences, I know that if health care isn’t affordable, it isn’t accessible.

Over and over during the past several months, I have spoken with folks across the Second Congressional District who are paying tens of thousands of dollars in premiums each year and have only one choice for a health care plan. A farmer in Zumbro Falls told me he pays $24,000 a year for his plan, with a $12,000 deductible. This must stop. Republicans and Democrats need to come together to stabilize health care costs for families who have too little choice in their health care.

The GOP has spent years chipping away at the Affordable Care Act, which isn’t perfect, but we do not need to give up the successful aspects of the law, which eliminated the penalty for pre-existing conditions, allowed young adults like my four sons to remain on their parents’ insurance until they are 26 years old, ended lifetime limits and gave tens of millions of Americans access to health care who didn’t have it before.

We must address the lack of choice and competition in the insurance marketplace. In order to address this, I propose opening up Medicare for consumers who choose to buy into it, to compete with large insurance companies. That will give families more options and lower costs for everyone.

Let’s not ruin the progress we’ve already made by playing politics with health care. Let’s build on the improvements and stabilize the marketplace. Lives are at stake. For instance, 51 percent of non-elderly residents in the Second Congressional District have a pre-existing condition. These people cannot be in jeopardy of losing their coverage.

To stabilize the ACA, we should reauthorize a federal reinsurance program that does not shortchange other current programs and make it permanent. We must provide a long-term outlook for cost reduction subsidies and rein in out-of-control costs in the pharmaceutical industry. Pharma should compete by negotiating with Medicare and ensure that generic drugs are a vital part of the health care mix. We need more transparent medical pricing and we must start to move away from a fee-for-service system.

Let’s take a realistic approach to improving our complex health care system with someone who spent over 20 years working in health care and grew up at times without health insurance. Congressional Republicans have had control of the executive branch and Congress for the past two years and have made no progress on reducing the cost of your health care.

I will fight the special interests head-on and work to ensure all families have access to coverage they can afford. It’s time to stop playing politics with people’s lives.

Angie Craig is running for Congress in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District. She lives in Eagan with her wife and four sons.

*This piece orginally ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on September 7, 2018.

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Health

Biden Announcing New Rule to Protect Consumers Who Purchase Short-Term Health Insurance Plans

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A... Read More

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A new rule finalized by the Democratic president's administration will limit these plans to just three months. And the plans can only be renewed for a maximum... Read More

March 27, 2024
by Dan McCue
One-Time Treatment Could Revitalize Immune Systems in the Elderly

PALO ALTO, Calif. — A new study suggests that a one-time treatment that modulates the composition of a type of... Read More

PALO ALTO, Calif. — A new study suggests that a one-time treatment that modulates the composition of a type of immune cell could potentially revitalize the immune systems of the elderly, helping their bodies better react to viral and bacterial threats. The research was carried out... Read More

March 27, 2024
by Dan McCue
Insurers to Expand Access to ‘Navigation Services’ for Cancer Patients

WASHINGTON — Seven of the nation’s largest health insurance companies are expanding access to so-called “navigation services” to help patients... Read More

WASHINGTON — Seven of the nation’s largest health insurance companies are expanding access to so-called “navigation services” to help patients and their families navigate the myriad challenges that might arise during treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses. The insurers involved are Aetna; Blue Cross Blue... Read More

Five Takeaways From the Abortion Pill Case Before US Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could have far-reaching implications for millions of American women and for scores of drugs regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. It's... Read More

Biden and Harris Argue Democrats Will Preserve Health Care and Republicans Would Take It Away

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday promoted their health care agenda in... Read More

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday promoted their health care agenda in the battleground state of North Carolina, arguing that Democrats like themselves would preserve access to care while Republicans would reverse gains made over the past decade... Read More

March 26, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
Supreme Court Skeptical of Ban on Abortion Pill Mifepristone

WASHINGTON — A hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Court indicated a majority of the justices want to maintain women’s access... Read More

WASHINGTON — A hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Court indicated a majority of the justices want to maintain women’s access to the abortion pill mifepristone despite objections from anti-abortion activists. The doctors and organizations who sued argued the Food and Drug Administration was wrong in granting... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top