Health Care
As a member of the Rural Health Care Coalition, I support improving the affordability of and access to health care for all while also supporting additional resources necessary to improving the overall health care of the nation.
Attracting physicians to Eastern North Carolina is a top priority, and that is why I have supported efforts to extend tax credits to physicians who choose to locate in health professional shortage areas. I have also supported legislation to provide financial assistance to qualified individuals who are currently unable to purchase medication prescribed by those physicians. I am an advocate for improving Medicare reimbursements to physicians and have supported efforts to repeal the SGR (sustainable growth rate) – a flawed payment formula that does not reflect practice cost increases and unfairly punishes rural, underserved areas.
I did not support the Affordable Care Act because it fell short of providing the reforms our nation needs. Instead, we should tackle reform in specific, targeted ways like:
- strengthening Medicare and Medicaid;
- improving Medicare reimbursement rates for rural health providers,
- expanding the use of electronic medical records;
- expanding and strengthening community health centers;
- allowing small business owners to join pools of coverage to access better insurance rates;
- allowing states to form compacts to allow the purchase of insurance across state lines; and
- providing tax credits for long-term care.
Finally, as part of my mission to maintain and improve health care through medical science, I support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicaid. I also serve on the Congressional Community Pharmacy Caucus and support providing a fair playing field for our independent community pharmacists to ensure patients have access to the medications they need. I am also a member of several Congressional caucuses that work to secure funding for research and prevention for a variety of diseases, including the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, the House Cancer Caucus, the House Vision Caucus, and the Youth Sports Caucus.
