Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Expand Medicaid

Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation, and healthcare costs are skyrocketing across the board. The biggest single thing Texas can do to improve health coverage and reduce costs is expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Right now, Medicaid in Texas only serves very poor children, very poor pregant women, and severely disabled people. This leaves a large portion of the population who are poor (but not poor enough to qualify for assistance) without health coverage. When uninsured or underinsured individuals received health care that they are unable to pay for, thsoe costs are passed on to patients who can pay and to taxpayers. This drives up everyone's costs.

Expanding Medicaid would bring $6 billion of federal funding into Texas (that we're already paying for in our income taxes), and it would provide health coverage to another 1.5 million Texans. 10,000 of those Texans live right here in House District 45. It's time to provide all Texans with a base standard of health care and to lower costs for everyone.

Reproductive Health Care and Education

Reproductive rights have been consistenly under attack in Texas. The only people who should have a voice in an individual's reproductive health decisions are the person themselves and their medical provider. I will fight against the erosion of women's access to health care and work to epxand preventative care and comprehensive family planning services for all Texans.

In addition, Texas needs better reproductive education. Texas ranks fifth in the nation for teen births and first for repeat teen births. This isn't surprising, because 25% of Texas school districts offer no reproductive education and another 60% only offer abstinence-only. Young people cannot make good choices for themselves without adequate information. Comprehenisve reproductive education programs reduce rates of STDs and teen pregnancy and often delay the onset of sexual activity for teens. These programs also teach healthy relationship models and consent, reducing sexual assault and intimate partner violence. I will work towards expanding evidence-based reproductive education to every Texas school district.

Medicial Marijuana

I support full legalization of marijuana in Texas, but in the interim, I will fight for improved access to medical marijuana. Texas's current "compassionate use" program only applies to small number of patients with severe epilepsy, and acquiring the prescription and medication is unnecessarily burdensome. I will fight for a medical marijuana program that trusts medical professionals to prescribe it appropriately, just as we do with other prescriptions, and do away with unnecessary restrictions on what conditions it can be prescribed for. Medical marijuana has the potential to treat pain and PTSD patients who are currently being prescribed more dangerous and habit-forming medications such as opiates and anxiety medications.

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