I’m ashamed when I think about our healthcare system. We live in the richest, most innovative country on earth, in all of human history. I’m on a mission to make our government, and its policies, as cutting edge as our industries. Considering the quick facts, healthcare costs the average family approximately 10% of their income. If we’re serious about social mobility and the American Dream, and investing in our future, we can’t be spending $1 just to feel well enough to earn $9. Regarding availability, I do not believe that healthcare is a “natural right” like the Freedom of Speech—namely because the government does not have to do anything other than protect your opportunity to exercise that right. With healthcare, somebody has to pay for it. I believe something you depend on others for can’t be a natural right. However, I do clearly see the logic in completely available healthcare. We can pretend that we don’t pay for free public healthcare now, but “we”—as a government and as taxpayers—end up footing the bill for fluids, serious medication, and trauma expenses in our costly emergency rooms—all when a nurse checkup with a quick and easy prescription was available weeks earlier. Therefore, as a Representative, I will need to do everything in my power to make healthcare as affordable as possible. There are myriad regulations wrapping red tape around highly skilled nurses and community medication centers at grocery stores that could do a large amount of the quick, heavy lifting to get the weight off lower and middle-class families. Why can’t someone walk into a pharmacy and get a prescription for pink-eye all in one 15-minute visit? Devolving the regulation around healthcare to match the technology and skills we require at the lowest levels will be my first push in healthcare legislation.

It is well past time that the Affordable Care Act is repealed and replaced with a system that works for all Americans—including our small business owners who have been hit the hardest by this burdensome regulation. We voted so many representatives into office because of their promise to repeal Obamacare. Then, when we finally had the majority needed to repeal and replace it, a few of our “leaders” went behind closed doors and came out with a bill that was nearly as bad. There should have been a perfect bill sitting in the top drawer of Paul Ryan’s desk, ready to pass the second we had the votes to do so. Republican leadership in Congress failed us.

While the Affordable Care Act may have required and provided healthcare, it also came with escalating premiums and deductibles that priced many Americans out of healthcare. We’ve seen time and time again that the free market is the best avenue for creating innovative solutions, and it’s time to allow companies—regardless of what state they are located in—to compete for customers. This will drive down costs and create positive healthcare options that are more affordable for all Americans.


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