Campaign Issues
I believe in practical solutions to the problems that our area of the country deals with. I will work to protect the rights of all the people who live in this beautiful, wet and windy corner of our state.
We should all want the best for each other, for everyone to feel safe, to feel listened to and for our voices to be heard in Congress. In my many years as a doctor I have heard many of your stories and your frustrations. I am now ready to take those issues to congress with me.
Medicare Reform:
There are so many issues with Medicare that need to be fixed. No one in Congress is standing up to the Medicare bureaucracy and saying No or Stop as they continue to do things that just raise your costs and waste your money. No one is saying firmly that This Is Stupid, Stop It. Congress has oversight of Medicare just like they do for every other government program. My solution is to ask to represent you in congress so someone is standing up for you.
-When you become ill and are admitted to the hospital Medicare requires the doctors who are taking care of you to decide whether you are on “Inpatient” status or “Observation” status. On Inpatient status your medicare insurance is required to pay for your care. If you are on Observation status then you are required to pay for your own hospital stay. Naturally there is a lot of pressure from your insurance to make you an Observation patient so they can keep more of your insurance premiums for themselves. This tugging back and forth not only costs you money but it requires every hospital to hire teams of highly paid clerks, nurses and doctors to review criteria and argue with your insurance for payment when the Inpatient criteria are not met. Can you believe that Medicare and the companies that contract to run parts of Medicare believe that they know you better than your own doctor knows you? By itself, this problem wastes many millions of dollars that never do anything to improve your health or healing. My solution is to combine both types of hospital stays under the same heading, average the current payments for hospital stays between the two, and set that as the new payment, abolishing the medical-industrial complex that consumes millions of dollars arguing and fighting over how to classify someones stay in the hospital.
-Medicare is split into Parts A, B and D. Part A and Part B pay for your doctors office care and your hospital care. Part D was added to help with the cost of your medicines. There is no practical reason for all of this to be separated. My solution is to combine all these parts under just one heading. There is no reason why someone should have to decide whether they want Part D or want to risk it and go without, hoping they won’t ever need to pay cash for medicines in the future.
Medicare starts at age 65 but many people retire and start on social security at age 62. One of the first things I would try to do is to lower the Medicare age to 62. In my work as a doctor I have seen people get cancer, have heart attacks and die during that 3-year gap as they try to avoid needing medical care.
Health Care Reform:
-Medicines are cheaper in Canada and Mexico. There is no reason that Medicare or you should ever pay a lot more for your medicines than you would pay if you lived across the border from Blaine in Canada. My solution is to impose the same prices here as the drug companies have agreed to be paid in other countries.
-All healthcare decisions should be between you and your doctor. No one should be allowed to set themselves in between you and your doctor. It’s no one else business what decisions you make about your healthcare. No one, absolutely no one.
Student Loan Reform:
-Student Loan programs should be expanded to add loan forgiveness to every single person who goes into professions that involve serving the public or producing things. This includes teachers, health care workers, public service employees and similar professions. My solution is to make loan forgiveness equal to the number of years in a service profession. Every year of education that you fund with student loans should be forgiven by one year of work in a job that involves caring for others or producing and repairing things that we all use.
Infrastructure Support
Bridges, Roads, Ferries, Airports, Ports.
-Congress needs to refocus on providing the funds and the motivation to maintain and update the structures we use every day for transportation. Ferries are an incredibly important part of our lives here in this part of Washington state. High quality bridges are essential for our safety and movement. Maintaining and building new high capacity roads are essential for quality of life.
Aviation and Industrial programs:
-I have a fondness for people who work in aircraft production and repair. I support better pay, better benefits and more opportunity.
Housing programs:
-Poverty programs should be fully funded. Additional housing options should be supported by allowing and encouraging more building at every level of housing so you can afford to aspire to a better house, a place big enough for your family, and a neighborhood that you can be proud of.
The campaign focus on Medicare Reform and other healthcare issues has been a great theme to share with voters on my walking tour of House District 2 so far. I have met voters in their homes in Anacortes, Everett, Bellingham, Burlington, Mount Vernon, Sumas, Stanwood, Concrete, Sedro Woolley, Friday Harbor, Ferndale, Clinton, Everson, Lynden and East Sound. Coming up in the next 2 weeks are scheduled visits to Coupeville, Mukilteo, Lynwood, Sedro Woolley, Everett, Langley, Point Roberts and Mount Vernon. I am learning quickly what matters to our fellow voters and friends. Medicare and Healthcare are what I know best but the topics discussed on my front porch visits are expanding my knowledge and adding to the issues that I plan to bring to Congress with me next year. Thank you to my wife and daughter for their help on the walking tours so far. Several other supporters have indicated that they would like to volunteer for these front porch visits. I am happy for the help.
