Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

There is no escaping the costs of healthcare. If someone gets sick and can't pay, everyone else pays. There is no way around this (unless you favor simply turning away the sick).

Caring for your health and treatment for illness is a basic human right. This right is not available for hundreds of thousands of Idahoans who cannot afford health insurance. And for those that can, high deductibles and outrageously expensive prescription drugs often lead to doing without.

No Idahoan should have to choose between the cost of healthcare and food or shelter.

While this is a national issue (one that is being highjacked by special interests in Congress), the state legislature can, and must, act to lower the cost of, and increase access to, healthcare. Allowing small

Senator Werk listens at one of his many public forums
businesses to purchase healthcare through the state plan, supporting local health clinics, and providing seed money for community-based substance abuse and mental health clinics are just a few ways the state can have a positive impact in healthcare.

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