I strongly support implementing changes that will help the U.S. control health care costs, while still achieving high-quality care and universal basic coverage for everyone. Whether we, as a nation, choose Medicare for All, the Affordable Care Act, or the public option, we need to be sure we achieve these goals. As one of the greatest nations in the world, we must take the lead on healthcare. We need to ensure that healthcare is available to everyone throughout the U.S. Every American deserves access to quality health care and this includes mental healthcare which is far too often overlooked. Healthcare also needs to be affordable for all families. Yearly increases of insurance premiums are putting quality care with low deductibles and low out-of-pocket expenses out of reach for many families in Minnesota.

Prescription drug prices have skyrocketed. I will work hard to find ways to lower these costs and make medications affordable for everyone who needs them. There are several ways to do this, including: encouraging price transparency, reforming patent laws, allowing Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate lower drug prices, and capping out-of-pocket costs.

Making healthcare available and affordable to all doesn’t mean there are facilities or even clinicians available to care for those needing care. This is especially true in our rural communities where healthcare providers are harder to access and mental health care professionals are too far away. We need to develop plans and strategies to ensure we have more safe modern facilities and trained staff to work in them.