According to a Harvard study published by the American Journal of Public Health, 44,789 Americans die each year because they have no health insurance. If you compare two Americans who are physically identical—same height, same age, same race, same weight, even same smoking history – but one has health insurance and the other does not, the one without health insurance is 40% more likely to die.
That is why I supported the Affordable Care Act. It brings our country closer to healthcare coverage for all Americans. The Affordable Care Act eliminates the donut hole on prescription drugs for seniors, and covers routine checkups. It prevents insurance companies from cutting individuals off when they reach some arbitrary cost limit, and it prevents insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The Act also allows young men and women to stay on their parents’ insurance policy until they are 26 years old.
The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction, but we cannot stop there. I support a strong public option. We need to increase competition, especially in areas where one or two companies control 80% or more of the health insurance market. In the 113th Congress, I re-introduced the Medicare You Can Buy Into Act, which opens up Medicare to anyone willing to pay for it.
