Ryan Kelly

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your family’s story. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to navigate serious medical challenges while also facing the threat of financial hardship. No family should have to worry about losing their home because a loved one needed lifesaving care. I also want to thank you for the work you do through Family Voices and SPAN advocating for medically complex children and their families here in New Jersey.

Your story resonates with me personally. After my father passed away, my mother went to update her information with the VA and, through what appeared to be a bureaucratic error in the system, her healthcare coverage was effectively shut off. She was told it would take a couple of weeks to fix. Instead, it took nearly two and a half years and intervention from her Congressman before everything was finally restored.

During that time she struggled to access basic care, relied on low-cost clinics, and sometimes the only medication she received were sample packs doctors could provide. When she passed away, she still had medical debt. Watching that happen in my own family reinforced for me how frightening and broken the system can feel when costs and bureaucracy stand between people and the care they need.

If elected, lowering healthcare costs for families would be one of my core priorities. I believe several reforms are necessary:

• Reducing the role of middlemen that drive up healthcare costs without improving care
• Increasing transparency so families know the cost of care before they receive it
• Strengthening protections against catastrophic medical debt
• Preserving and strengthening Medicare and Medicaid for medically fragile individuals and people with disabilities
• Supporting programs like New Jersey’s Catastrophic Illness Relief Fund that provide real help to families facing extraordinary circumstances

Healthcare should be about caring for people, not navigating a financial maze. Families dealing with serious illness should be focused on healing and supporting their loved ones—not worrying about bankruptcy or fighting administrative systems.

No American family should be grieving a loved one while also fighting the healthcare system or worrying about losing their home because someone needed care.

Thank you again for your advocacy and for taking the time to reach out. I would welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation and learn more about what families across our district are experiencing.

Sincerely,

Ryan Michael Kelly
Candidate for Congress (NJ-03)
Kelly for NJ-03
PO Box 68
Hightstown, NJ 08520

info@kellyfornj03.com
www.kellyfornj03.com