Survey Questions and Candidate Responses

Cassandra Martineau | Participating Election

Single Payer Now. It was absurd that this was blocked by both Democrats and Republicans when 68% of bankruptcies were due to medical bills, when insulin started skyrocketing for profit. For-profit healthcare is killing us. It's inexcusable that this issue isn't being championed by EVERYONE during a pandemic.

Bruce Walczak | Participating Election

The Covid has exposed the U.S. health system as in adequate, and biased. We need a system which offers reasonably priced health care to all residents, whether in the form of insurance or a Medicare for all type system. The key is to get Congress to agree on working towards a solution rather than the current deadlock and inaction.

Joe Courtney | Participating Election

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only revealed disparities in health care in the US, it has exacerbated them. Lower wage workers are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed, and therefore more likely to lose their employer-based health insurance. To respond to this crisis, I supported legislation to ensure workers laid off due to the pandemic could keep their employer-sponsored insurance through COBRA at no additional cost to them, but Republicans in Congress and the White House refused that proposal. To ensure Americans have access to affordable, quality health care well beyond the pandemic, I support significant expansion of the Affordable Care Act as a crucial first step. In June, I voted for a package of reforms that would have lowered premiums for Americans who purchase their insurance through the exchanges, directed the HHS Secretary to negotiate prescription drug prices for all Americans, and reversed the Trump Administration’s attacks on the ACA. While these are necessary next steps to build upon and protect the ACA, I also support bigger proposals to expand access to affordable coverage such as a public option, and my bill to allow Americans aged 50-64 to buy into Medicare.

Justin Paglino | Participating Election

This issue was my primary motivation for running for office. Thirty two other other countries currently enjoy universal healthcare, including all the other major nations on Earth, but not the United States. About 40% of us are either uninsured or ‘underinsured’; either way we are unable to afford the care we need. The pandemic has helped to expose the folly and inhumanity of having a system where health insurance is tied to employment in any way shape or form - About 12 Million Americans have lost health insurance this year alone, through no fault of their own. Our system is not just. The policy I support to rectify this long-standing injustice is the one supported by the majority of American people (and over 80% of Democrats): Medicare-for-All single payer universal health insurance, where comprehensive health care is provided free to all. If anyone asks ‘how are you going to pay for it?’ you can tell them that studies agree Medicare for All is LESS expensive than our current healthcare system, up to 15% cheaper - a savings of up to $500 Billion per year (1). The expense is lower, and it could be divided up fairly, on a sliding scale so to speak, with progressive income tax. Americans still get the same doctors (in fact any doctor, no more networks), the same medicines, and the same hospitals, it’s only that the bills are paid in Washington DC. If we need to tweak the system to improve coverage we can do so through democracy - try improving your healthcare plan if you don’t like it. 
1.“22 studies agree: ‘Medicare for All’ saves money.” The Hill. Diane Archer 2/24/20.

John Larson | Participating Election

I believe we need to build on the Affordable Care Act as we work towards achieving universal healthcare. I’ve introduced a bill that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare at the age 50. This bill would lower costs for those on Medicare and for those on private insurance. Additionally, I’m a sponsor of Medicare X, which would create a public option plan that would be available on individual and small business exchanges.

Brian Merlen | Participating Election

I believe fully in Medicare for all or universal healthcare. All studies including Koch studies show we would save money with a system that covers every American.

Rosa DeLauro | Participating Election

We need universal healthcare more than ever in this crisis. That is why I wrote the Medicare for America Act, which builds on the success of Medicare and Medicaid, and achieves universal health coverage by auto enrolling every child at birth, those who are uninsured, and those who currently purchase their coverage on the individual market, in the new Medicare for America program. Employees have the option to stay covered by quality employer-sponsored insurance or choose to enroll in the program. Employers also have the option to choose Medicare for America for their employees. Let me be clear, every individual in this country will have the option to be covered by Medicare for America, and no one will go uninsured.

Justin Anderson | Participating Election

Better health care is something we should always strive for. It is also easy to pretend ACA had merit, although many fixes were made to allow it to survive. We need to remember the original impact of ACA. Those with good plans often lost them. Those on employer plans often lost their doctor or were moved to an unaffordable plan with either higher deductibles, or lower coverage. Due to ACA my own son lost employment hours to ensure the employer would not be responsible for insurance. Then, when my son simply could not afford insurance at all, he was force to pay a substantial annual penalty, for not having medical insurance. The truth is, the articles written about the ACA, referred to it as being in a “death spiral”. It was. After many attempted fixes in the Obama administration, the current administration had a choice of making additional fixes, or allowing it to crash and burn, which would have hurt millions. The current administration made the needed fixes and removed the penalty, for those who could not afford any insurance. We are now faced with allowing a single payer system to become the new standard, at which time, over 150 million hard working Americans, with insurance, will lose those plans and we will all be placed in the same system governed by the government. This is not acceptable. Not for any one of those Union workers, or those who can afford premium plans, or those who have exceptional employers. I will support a plan that is more inclusive for all, regardless of whether ACA is made better, or simply replaced. The concerns must be placed on lowering the cost of medication, protecting pre-existing conditions and making sure we provide for our retired community first. Government has not proven it can run anything with fiscal responsibility, from the Postal Service to Social Security. People should not work their entire lives and lose everything, they worked so hard for, just to stay healthy in their later years. Even the Veteran Hospitals now offer the choice to go to a private doctor, if the VA cannot provide adequate care in a reasonable time. This is the opposite of moving to a single payer system. This also begs the question; in a single payer system, are veterans forced into that, or do they continue through the VA systems already in place? A single payer system will destroy the best medical treatment available in the world. We need to move forward, but with caution.