The Issues
The Issues: Affordable Healthcare
Judy Truesdell recognizes that health care is a major challenge that must be addressed if Michigan is to be successful in revitalizing our economy and attracting new employers to our great state. She is committed to ensuring that every person in the 78th District has access to affordable health care including prescription drugs. Today, one in six Americans has no health insurance and without this critical protection, many families are only one serious illness away from bankruptcy. That's why Judy believes our health care industry must be reformed.
Health insurance premiums have risen considerably faster than both the inflation rate and our wages. As a result increasing numbers of families are being forced to go without the coverage they need to protect the health of their loved ones. This includes prescription drug coverage. More than 1.8 million Michigan seniors and families on fixed incomes have no prescription drug coverage because of skyrocketing prices. It's no wonder our citizens have to make tough choices between buying medicine and buying groceries. Rapidly escalating health care costs also put our businesses at a significant competitive disadvantage with those competitors located in countries with national health care systems. As a result good paying jobs are being lost. As Judy says, "In the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth, no one should have to choose between taking their child to a doctor and paying the rent." Judy understands that keeping health care costs down is both an economic and personal necessity. She is and has been a strong advocate for combining purchasing power with other states to buy prescription drugs in bulk as one key step to driving health care costs down.
