Healthcare should work for people, not corporate profits. In Maine, too many families struggle to get care close to home – especially in rural communities where hospitals and clinics are under constant threat. I’ll fight to make sure every Mainer has access to quality, affordable care, no matter their ZIP code.
Here’s how:
- Offer a real choice with Medicare for All Who Want It – I support creating an optional public insurance option built on existing Medicare infrastructure. This is a balanced, inclusive approach that offers choice today, expands coverage dramatically, and lays the foundation for a single-payer system in the future.
- Medicare for All Who Want It would provide a public plan that utilizes the Medicare structure, with generous subsidies and cost support.
- To keep premiums down, plans would be backed by government financial help.
- Low-income families will be eligible for subsidies that could make premiums as low as $0.
- People who are uninsured and eligible could be automatically signed up. Subsidies could cover most or the entire cost of the plan. But there is always the option to opt-out if folks prefer private coverage.
- This plan preserves private insurance, and offers a true choice to families. If your job offers insurance and you like it, you can keep it. If you prefer an option on the public marketplace, you can sign up for it. But if your job doesn’t, or you want to opt-in to the Medicare-style plan, you can buy into Medicare for All Who Want It.
- Protect and expand existing access – I’ll defend the Affordable Care Act, fight back against Medicaid cuts, and push to expand coverage so all Mainers can see a doctor without going broke.
- Hold Big Pharma accountable – It’s time to end price gouging. I’ll work to let Medicare negotiate all prescription drugs and bring oversight to sky-high drug prices.
- Cover maternal and family care – Insurance should cover all maternity care, from prenatal checkups and ultrasounds to delivery and postpartum care — with no co-pays or deductibles. I’ll also fight to make sure IVF is covered so families can make the choices that are right for them.
I understand these struggles firsthand. When I was born, my mom had to leave the workforce to provide childcare for my family. But when my twin brother and I turned 3, she was forced to go back to work outside the home to provide health insurance for our family, because the church my father served couldn’t afford it.
My experience taught me whose side I need to be on. I’ll never take a dime from pharmaceutical or insurance companies. My priority is putting Mainers first.