Margaret Burke

“The main way to prevent patients from being stuck with high medical bills and to make sure they can afford proper medical care is to keep them on affordable medical insurance plans like Medicaid. Many people give up on qualifying for Medicaid based on their disability or illness because it is a long, complicated bureaucratic process that often results in incorrect denials. Instead they qualify based on their low income. This will no longer be possible in the face of upcoming federal changes and cuts to the Medicaid program. I support increasing resources and bolstering and streamlining processes at county assistance offices to help people with disabilities and illnesses that prevent them from working enroll in Medicaid if they qualify.

There are some other legislative approaches to reducing costs. Competition lowers cost. We should stop consolidation from eliminating competition. I support legislation to prevent private equity firms from acquiring healthcare facilities and then cutting essential service for profit. My opponent voted against this legislation (House Bill 1460). Shopping around for the best price for a scheduled procedure can save a patient thousands of dollars. Patients should be able to see pricing before they decide on procedures. I support requiring facilities to post prices for scheduled medical procedures so that patients can comparison shop. My opponent voted against bipartisan legislation that would require transparency in healthcare pricing (House Bill 2339). We should lower prescription drug pricing. I support legislation that would set pricing for pharmaceuticals for all patients at the negotiated federal Medicaid price.”

Statement submitted by campaign or congressional office