I believe deeply that every American should have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Since coming to Congress, I’ve fought to lower the cost of prescription drugs, lower healthcare premiums, increase access to services, and protect coverage for pre-existing conditions.
So, I’m especially proud that after thirty years of gridlock, we took real action and passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Among other things it will:
- Lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors
- Cap out-of-pocket expenses at $2,000.00 for seniors on Medicare, impacting 1.2 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries in New Jersey
- Cap the cost of insulin at $35.00 a month for the 77,000 NJ seniors covered under Medicare
- Ensure affordable costs for those buying health insurance on the exchange.
We also passed legislation to end surprise medical billing so that no patient gets a bill from a hospital that they didn’t expect and cannot afford.
As a mom of four, I am deeply concerned with the mental health of our children, especially as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why I fought hard and secured direct federal funding for the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris’s suicide prevention program, which will help bring awareness and care resources to schools in every county of NJ-11.
Throughout my time in Congress, I have successfully fought against efforts to remove protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, limit the age children can stay on their parent’s health insurance, or institute punitive lifetime caps on insurance coverage. More than 315,000 residents in our district have pre-existing conditions and I will continue to be their advocate.
Additionally, I have worked diligently to reduce the healthcare provider shortages we have experienced in North Jersey and decrease patients’ wait times and distances required to travel for quality care. Our healthcare providers bravely served our communities through the darkest days of the pandemic. Their experiences on the front lines were incredibly tough, which is why it is so important that we continue to do all we can for them.
My fight to continue to lower healthcare costs is not over. I introduced the bipartisan Prescription Information Modernization Act to allow digital prescribing information (PI) for pharmacists and physicians, which would lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs and reduce waste in the industry. I want to extend the cap on out-of-pocket costs for insulin to all Americans and expand access to telehealth services, which were so beneficial during the pandemic.