Policy for Medical Insurance
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Expanding Healthcare Access and Coverage
Texas currently has the highest uninsured rate in the nation, leaving 1 in 5 Texans behind and causing many to skip essential checkups due to prohibitive costs [1, 2]. To ensure families can access the care they need, this policy focuses on expanding coverage:
- Medicaid Expansion: We must expand Medicaid to bring federal tax dollars back to Texas, which will help keep rural and community clinics open and bridge the healthcare access gap for underserved communities [3, 4].
- Maternal Health: Texas must expand postpartum care to address the severe maternal mortality crisis that disproportionately affects women of color [5].
- Protecting Medical Freedom: Government mandates must be removed from the exam room so individuals have the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions [6].
- Reference: Kaiser Family Foundation – Texas Health Data
Addressing Insurance Affordability and Out-of-Pocket Costs
High out-of-pocket costs are devastating family budgets. We will enact rules to protect consumers from financial ruin and lower everyday health expenses:
- Medical Debt Relief: We will pass the “Patient Protection Act” to eliminate predatory billing practices and protect families from medical debt [2].
- Prescription Price Caps: We will implement state-level transparency rules and strict price caps on life-saving medications, such as insulin, to protect seniors and families [7].
- Tax Relief for Essentials: To provide immediate financial relief, we will end the sales tax on essential family health items, including medicine and diapers [7].
- Reference: Texas Department of State Health Services
Implementing State Rules for Property Insurance and Utilities
Everyday living costs, including housing and utility protections, are heavily impacted by unchecked corporate practices. We must enact strict state rules to protect homeowners:
- Insurance Accountability: We will hold the property insurance industry accountable for unfairly hiking homeowner premiums while state leaders look the other way [5].
- Utility Rate Protections: We will end “scarcity pricing” on utility bills that pads corporate profits, and we will properly weatherize the power grid to protect consumers [6].
- Housing Affordability: We will promote “Fair Shot” housing policies to ensure rent and related living costs remain affordable for teachers, first responders, and seniors [3].
- Reference: Texas Department of Insurance
Funding Our Future: People Over Politics
For too long, Austin has played politics while families pay the price [1]. It is an absolute necessity to work with whoever is focused on problems, not politics, in Texas communities to enact pragmatic, bipartisan solutions [8].
- Rainy Day Fund Utilization: Texas holds billions in a rainy day fund while property taxes hit record highs; we will use these funds to provide direct relief to families [4].
- Closing Corporate Loopholes: We will end corporate tax breaks so that everyday families are no longer forced to pick up the tab for special interest lobbyists [1, 2].
- Focusing on the Kitchen Table: By rejecting culture wars, we can focus our funding and legislative efforts on lowering costs and fully funding our schools [8, 9].
- Reference: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts