Universal Care, No Exceptions 
Healthcare should not depend on your wallet, your zip code, or your job. Yet across IL-17, I’ve met people who are rationing insulin, skipping doctor’s appointments, or drowning in medical debt. In the richest nation on Earth, that is an outrage. Healthcare is a human right and not a privilege reserved for the wealthy or well-connected. No family should face bankruptcy because a child got sick. No one should have to choose between paying the rent and paying for their prescriptions. And no corporate insurance middleman should get to decide who receives life-saving treatment and who doesn’t. We’ve made some progress, the Affordable Care Act expanded coverage and protections but we have so much further to go. Over 100 million Americans, including 41% of adults, are saddled with medical debt today. It’s clear our system is still broken. It’s time to treat healthcare as the public good that it is and guarantee care for all, period.

I will champion a bold vision for healthcare: 

• Pass Medicare for All to guarantee universal coverage. It’s time to stop nibbling around the edges and establish a single-payer national health program that covers everyone. Under Medicare for All, every American will have comprehensive coverage including mental health services, dental, vision, reproductive care, and prescription drugs with no out-of-pocket costs at the point of service. You will never get a medical bill that forces you into debt, and your coverage will never be tied to your job. That means you’re free to start a business, go back to school, or change jobs without fear of losing healthcare. This reform will save money (by cutting administrative waste and corporate profiteering) and save lives. 

• Eliminate medical debt and slash prescription drug prices. Families caught in the medical debt trap need relief now. I’ll fight for a medical debt forgiveness program to wipe out debt for low- and middle-income households, because nobody should be punished financially for getting sick. I will also take on Big Pharma to drastically cut drug prices: empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices for everyone, capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin and life-saving drugs (no one in IL-17 should pay more than $35 a month for the medicine they need), and cracking down on price gouging by drug companies. 

• Address the Black maternal health crisis. The United States has a maternal mortality rate that is shameful – especially for Black and brown mothers, who die at 3-4 times the rate of white mothers. I will fight to pass the Momnibus Act, a package of bills to invest in community-based maternal care, diversify the perinatal workforce, and address the social factors that lead to these tragic outcomes. We must also extend Medicaid coverage for new moms to a full year after birth in every state (as Illinois has done); no mother should lose coverage weeks after having a baby.

• Bring healthcare to the people. In a district with both rural areas and booming suburbs, access to care is uneven. I’ll expand telehealth services and mobile clinics to bring care directly to underserved communities, whether that’s a small town without a hospital or a neighborhood without mental health services. We saw during the pandemic that telehealth can save lives; let’s invest in it and make it permanent. I will also push for incentive programs to attract doctors, nurses, and mental health professionals to rural and high-need areas, so that distance and provider shortages don’t stop folks from getting care. 

• Rein in insurance and hospital abuse. We must hold corporate healthcare giants accountable. I’ll fight against the predatory practices of insurance companies and for-profit hospital systems that deny needed care. That includes stronger enforcement against surprise billing, limits on exorbitant hospital fees, and strict oversight of insurance claim denials. We should reward health care providers for patient outcomes and not let profit-driven systems game the market. I’ll also support efforts to scrutinize and block mega-mergers in the healthcare industry that reduce competition and drive up prices. 

Getting sick is hard enough, so paying for care shouldn’t add to the pain. Healthcare is not just about survival; it’s about freedom and justice. When everyone can get the care they need, we are a stronger, happier, more productive society. I’ll work every day until we achieve a system where your health is guaranteed and never again a source of fear or bankruptcy.