Support Our Seniors
Preserve promise of Social Security; don't privatize
I believe every American deserves a secure, healthy, and dignified retirement. During their working years, Americans contribute to Social Security in exchange for a promise that they will receive an income in retirement. Congress must find a solution to protect Social Security for future generations.
If elected, I will block Republican efforts to subject Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market through privatization. I will reject approaches that insist that cutting benefits is the only answer. We also need to make it easier for Americans to save on their own for retirement and prepare for unforeseen expenses by participating in retirement accounts at work.
Social Security and Medicare must be kept strong for seniors, people with disabilities, and future generations. The current administration and the GOP in congress has shown a shocking willingness to gut these programs to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest, and we fundamentally reject that approach.
Oppose privatization and oppose raising retirement age
I oppose raising the retirement age for eligibility in receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits. Additionally, I oppose reducing the benefits earned by workers just because they have also earned a benefit from certain public retirement plans. As congressman, I will work to repeal discriminatory laws that penalize some retired workers and their families while allowing others to receive full benefits.
Because the massive deficits expected with the GOP’s tax scam bill, the best way to strengthen our Social Security system is to restore fiscal responsibility.
INCREASE TAX REVENUE TO PROTECT EARNED BENEFITS
I believe the solution is providing more tax revenue by filling the 6.7 million job vacancies with the 6 million Americans who are unemployed through apprenticeship training via trade schools. Doing so would provide more funding to protect earned benefits like medicare and social security.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Millions of uninsured Americans have received access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including 46,000 residents of CA50. While it has serious flaws, it has advanced our nation closer to the universal coverage offered by other industrialized countries.
Congress must fix the ACA, not undermine it and tear it down with nothing to replace it. We need to break through political gridlock in Washington and get on with the people’s business.
If elected, I would vote to take immediate action to (1) lower the cost of prescription drugs by having Medicare negotiate prices, (2) provide a public option to compete with the private sector based on who provides lower costs and higher quality service and (3) as a short-term solution, allow individuals ages 50-64 years old to buy into early medicare.
Pregnancy and childbirth care for women, mental health care and addiction, prescription drugs, hospitalization, emergency services, devices for people with disabilities and other essential health benefits required under ACA must be preserved.
I pledge to oppose any effort to defund the ACA, limit access to coverage, reduce essential benefits, reintroduce lifetime caps, restrict coverage for people with pre-existing conditions or reduce access for people with low incomes by raising premiums.
But even with these fixes, ACA still falls short of the mark of universal coverage and costs too much for many Americans. Medical costs continue to rise, making ACA coverage unaffordable and inaccessible for tens of millions of Americans.
TRICARE, the military’s healthcare program, and Medicare have both proven to provide more affordable care than the private insurance system does. We should learn from these successful models and expand them for everyone.
That’s why Congress must move toward Medicare for All.
Medical Cannabis
Many wounded veterans, cancer patients, and recovering opioid addicts have successfully incorporated medicinal cannabis into their treatment. In fact, studies have shown that medicinal cannabis can help heal the human brain after years of opioid abuse by reconnecting synapses and neural networks. If elected, I will support de-scheduling cannabis and fund research to examine it as a natural alternative to often lethal prescription drugs such as opioids, depressants, and amphetamines.
MEDICARE FOR ALL
I believe the best way to offer every American healthcare security, while lowering the costs of care, would be a health care program known as Medicare for All. It is the best way to advance our society toward health justice.
I’d proudly join those supporting H.R. 676. According to Physicians for a National Health Program, 95 percent of all households would save money under Medicare for All. No more co-pays and deductibles, more free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care. It’s a win-win for patients and doctors.
Today’s costs are unjustifiably high. Americans spent $3.4 trillion on healthcare last year. Prescription drug costs today are obscene and the same surgical procedure costs thousands of dollars more at a facility across town.
A Medicare for All system would set prices for medical services and prescription drugs. It could eliminate deductibles, co-pays, premiums and caps on cost-sharing. It could also promote better care, and reduce unnecessary services, through evidence-based guidelines. Removing private insurance industry profits from the system frees billions of dollars for providing healthcare to more Americans.
If elected to Congress, I would be proud to support Medicare for All.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)
Sick children and pregnant women should always have quality healthcare. I would vote for permanent authorization of the CHIP program on its merits.
