Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care. It is crucial that we work together to make our health care system effective and efficient in order to serve all Americans. That is why I joined my colleagues in enacting the Affordable Care Act to reform our nation's health care system. The Affordable Care Act works to protect people's choice of doctors and health plans, as well as guarantee that Americans across the country have access to quality, stable, and affordable health care.

The Affordable Care Act contains many key reforms to our nation's health care system. This law contains the Patient's Bill of Rights, which implements critical consumer protections into the health care system and prevents insurers from discriminating against those with preexisting conditions. It also grants small businesses billions of dollars in tax credits to provide health care coverage for their employees. In addition, seniors are now saving money on prescription drugs and receiving free preventive care through Medicare. The Affordable Care Act also strengthens Medicare by combatting fraud and closing the Medicare Part D donut hole.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Americans are seeing lower costs and stronger coverage:

105 million Americans have had a lifetime limit on their coverage eliminated.
Up to 17 million children who have pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage by insurers.
2.5 million young adults up to age 26 now have health insurance.
5.1 million seniors and people with disabilities have saved $3.2 billion on their prescription drugs.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, including the timeline of implementation, please visit: www.healthcare.gov.

In addition to ensuring that every American has access to quality and affordable care, we must fund cutting-edge research towards cures for diseases that take our loved ones away too soon, and disrupt everyday life. I recently introduced H.R. 619, the Collaborative Academic Research Efforts (CARE) for Tourette Syndrome Act, to expand and further coordinate efforts towards research at the National Institutes of Health for this often misunderstood and stigmatized disorder that impacts as many as one in one hundred Americans. While symptoms can be suppressed overtime, too many individuals, particularly children, face the everyday challenge of trying to manage tics whether at school or in various social settings. Through expanded and collaborative research, we can learn more about the cause and treatment of the disorder to help improve the lives of those individuals impacted by Tourette syndrome. To learn more about the CARE for Tourette Syndrome Act, please view my press release on H.R. 619.

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