WI needs better access to health care. Destroying the ACA will not help
Editor’s Note: The Ideas Lab asked Democrat and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate to submit 1,000-word essays on how they would deal with health care, an issue Wisconsinites surveyed as part of the Main project Street Agenda says it is the third biggest problem they face going forward. The Nov. 5 election
When I was 9 years old, I got very sick and ended up spending three months in the hospital. At the time, my grandparents were taking care of me, and their insurance wouldn’t cover me because I wasn’t their child. After I recovered, my grandparents started looking for insurance that would help me. But no insurance company would cover me at any price, because I was called by those scary words: “pre-existing condition.”
So I spent my entire teenage years without health insurance, and I realized I’m not alone. Kids like me, along with people with cancer, diabetes or asthma, also had no health insurance because of a completely broken system.
Eric Hovde’s essay:The Affordable Care Act made health care worse. We need to go beyond it.
My story is the story of many Wisconsinites. That is what motivated me to take office because I never wanted another family to struggle like mine. I believe that health care is a right, not a right. Everyone deserves access to health care regardless of income level, where you live, or if you have a pre-existing condition. And I will continue to work until that happens for all Wisconsinites.
I wrote an arrangement to keep the children on the parents’ life insurance
It took decades of work and several elections, but we passed the Affordable Care Act so no child or parent or grandparent has to suffer the stress of having a condition that was before that I did. I was proud to write a provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. Today, millions of young Americans get health insurance because of work yes.
More Wisconsinites have gotten insurance every year since we passed that law. The uninsured rate even hit an all-time low in 2022. And this year, ACA health insurance enrollment hit a record high in Wisconsin. But my opponent, Eric Hovde, said he would repeal the ACA if elected, undoing decades of work and putting every Wisconsinite with a condition at risk of losing their care. . We cannot allow that to happen.
For decades, big pharmaceutical companies went largely unnoticed in Washington while Wisconsinites paid hand-over-hand for the medicines they needed to live. However, that ended when we passed the Affordable Care Act two years ago, handing Big Pharma their first loss in recent memory. Thanks to that bill, Medicare is now able to negotiate lower drug prices directly with big drug companies. Now those same companies can’t charge adults more than $35 a month for insulin, and Wisconsinites with Medicare can’t pay more than $2,000 a year for their prescription drugs. the doctor. More than 1.2 million Wisconsinites now pay less at the pharmacy because of the work we’ve done.
But I will not stop until we lower the cost of drugs for all Wisconsinites. I am currently working to pass the INSULIN Act, which will build on our work and reduce the cost of insulin to $35 for every American. I am also leading an investigation into the four largest manufacturers of asthma inhalers to find out why they sell inhalers in the US for hundreds of dollars more than in Europe. Now, three out of four manufacturers have lowered their prices to $35 per inhaler. And I intend to end price gouging on all prescription drugs once and for all with my FAIR Drug Pricing Act. The people of Wisconsin have my word that I will continue to fight to make sure they can afford the medicine they need to stay healthy.
The closure of hospitals shows the need to invest in health care facilities
Health care that has been accessible until now if not available or not suitable for our families. And I know many people in our state struggle to get care because our health facilities are underfunded, under-equipped, or far from where people live.
The news hit home when Hospital Sisters Health System suddenly closed two of its hospitals and 19 clinics in Western Wisconsin. These sudden closures left families without adequate care and eliminated many well-paying jobs. When the closing was announced, I called the leadership of Hospital Sisters Health System on their disappointing decision. But I want to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again. That’s why I introduced my HSHS Act, which would force hospital systems to shut down to plan to ensure their patients are connected to the health care they need.
As we fight hospital closures across the country, I am committed to bringing new funding to the facilities we have so they can continue to provide care to our families. Just a few years ago, I was proud to give $1 million to Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin to expand women’s health services and labor and delivery, $9 million for the construction of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County and $2.5 million for facility construction. Emergency Mental Health Center in Milwaukee.
Finally, I know that our health services could not function without our heroic health workers. That is why I am working on bills that will protect our health workers. beauty, expanding the health care workforce and increasing educational opportunities for more young people. to have access to good health care work, especially in our rural communities.
I have spent my career fighting to make sure Wisconsinites get the health care they deserve. If I have the honor of being re-elected, I promise to continue to advocate for my health care plan until every Wisconsinite has access to high-quality, affordable health care .
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, is seeking a third term in the US Senate.
Full text of the US Senate health care essay question
Question: Last year, two hospitals (Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls) and 19 clinics closed in western Wisconsin. Marshfield Clinic Healthcare System instituted employee furloughs earlier this year. In the Milwaukee area, some providers are reducing service. Health care systems cite staffing problems, inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, high costs and declining rates of private insurance patients. How would you propose to deal with this problem?
Question: Health insurance premiums continue to rise by two percent. Meanwhile, the number of Wisconsinites signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act hit a record high earlier this year. What can be done to make health care more affordable for Wisconsin families? In your view, what role does the ACA play in this? For example, would you propose to repeal, replace, or replace the ACA?
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