WI needs better healthcare access. Gutting the ACA won’t help

Editor’s Note: The Ideas Lab asked the Democrat and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate to submit 1,000 word essays on how they would tackle health care, the issue Wisconsinites surveyed as part of the Main Street Agenda project said is the third most significant problem they face heading into the Nov. 5 election.

When I was 9 years old, I got really sick and ended up spending three months in the hospital. At the time, my grandparents were taking care of me, and their insurance policy wouldn’t cover me since I wasn’t their child. After I got better, my grandparents began searching for an insurance policy that would cover me. But no insurance company would cover me at any price, because I had been branded with those terrifying words: “pre-existing condition.”

So I spent my entire youth without health insurance, and I realized I wasn’t alone. Kids like me, alongside folks with cancer, diabetes or asthma, were also going without health insurance because of a completely broken system.

Eric Hovde essay:Affordable Care Act made health care worse. We need to move beyond it.

My story is the story of countless Wisconsinites. It’s what inspired me to run for office because I never wanted another family to struggle like mine did. I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. Everyone deserves access to affordable health care regardless of income status, where you live, or if you have a pre-existing condition. And I’m going to keep working until that becomes a reality for all Wisconsinites.

I wrote provision to keep children on parents’ health insurance

It took decades of work and a few elections, but we passed the Affordable Care Act so no kid and no parent or grandparent has to go through that same stress around having a pre-existing condition that mine did. I was proud to write the provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26. Today, millions of young Americans have health insurance coverage because of that work.

More and more Wisconsinites have gotten insurance each year since we passed that legislation. The uninsured rate even fell to an all time low in 2022. And this year, ACA health insurance enrollment reached a record high in Wisconsin. But my opponent, Eric Hovde, has said he would repeal the ACA if elected, undoing decades of work and putting every Wisconsinite with a preexisting condition at risk of losing their care. We can’t let that happen.

For decades, the big pharmaceutical companies went virtually unchecked in Washington as Wisconsinites paid hand over fist for the drugs they needed to survive. However, that ended when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago, handing Big Pharma their first loss in recent memory. Because of that bill, Medicare can now negotiate lower prescription drug prices directly with the big pharmaceutical companies. Now those same companies cannot charge seniors more than $35 per month for insulin, and Wisconsinites with Medicare will not pay more than $2,000 per year for their prescription drugs. Over 1.2 million Wisconsinites are now paying less at the pharmacy because of the work we’ve done.

But I’m not going to stop until we lower prescription drug costs for all Wisconsinites. Right now I’m working across the aisle to pass the INSULIN Act, which would build on our work and cap the cost of insulin at $35 for every single American. I am also spearheading an investigation into the four largest manufacturers of asthma inhalers to determine why they’re selling inhalers in the U.S. for hundreds of dollars more than in Europe. Already, three of the four manufacturers have lowered their prices to $35 per inhaler. And I’m determined to end price gouging on all prescription drugs once and for all through my bipartisan FAIR Drug Pricing Act. Wisconsinites have my word that I’m going to keep fighting to ensure they can afford the prescription drugs they need to live healthily.

Hospital closures show need to invest in health care facilities

Affordable health care can only go so far if it’s not accessible or convenient for our families. And I know so many in our state struggle to get care as our health care facilities are underfunded, under-resourced, or far away from where people live.

This issue hit home for so many when Hospital Sisters Health System abruptly closed its two hospitals and 19 clinics in Western Wisconsin. These abrupt closures left families without critical care and eliminated many good paying jobs. When the closures were announced, I called out the Hospital Sisters Health System leadership for their disappointing decision. But I want to make sure something like this never happens again. That’s why I introduced my HSHS Act, which would force closing hospital systems to develop a plan to ensure their patients are connected to the health care they need.

As we fight hospital closures across the state, I’m determined to bring new funds to the facilities we have so they can continue to provide care to our families. In the last few years alone, I have been proud to deliver  $1 million to Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin to expand their women’s health and labor and delivery services, $9 million for the construction of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County and $2.5 million for construction of a Mental Health Emergency Center in Milwaukee.

And finally, I know our health care facilities would not function without our heroic health care workforce That’s why I’m working on bills that would protect our health care workforce, expand the hospice and palliative care workforce, and increase apprenticeship opportunities so more young people have a pathway into a great career in health care, especially in our rural communities.

I’ve spent my career fighting to ensure Wisconsinites have access to the health care they deserve. Should I have the honor to be reelected, I promise to continue championing my health care agenda until every Wisconsinite has access to high-quality, affordable health care.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate.

Full text of the U.S. Senate health care essay question

Question: Last spring, two hospitals (in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls) and 19 clinics closed in western Wisconsin. The Marshfield Clinic Healthcare System instituted staff furloughs earlier this year. In the Milwaukee area, some providers are reducing services. Health care systems cite staffing difficulties, inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, higher costs and declining rates of patients with private insurance. How would you propose to tackle this problem?

Question: Health insurance premiums continue to rise at double-digit percentages. Meanwhile, the number of people in Wisconsin signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act hit a record high earlier this year. What can be done to make health care more affordable for Wisconsin families? From your perspective, what role does the ACA play in this? Would you, for instance, suggest repealing, replacing or reforming the ACA?

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