Defending Healthcare for All

The Affordable Care Act has given millions of Americans who formerly lacked health insurance the coverage they need while preventing insurance companies from excluding those with pre-existing conditions. Raja strongly supports the Affordable Care Act and has voted consistently against Republican attempts to cripple or repeal it.

Raja believes that healthcare in this country should be a right– not a privilege– and that we must strive to attain universal coverage. The best way to accomplish that is by adding a public option to the Obamacare health insurance exchanges so that people and families have an affordable alternative to private insurance. Such an option would provide competition for private insurance and, in so doing, could help drive down overall costs.

Raja also believes that Congress should expand the federal government’s ability to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry for recipients of Medicare and Medicaid. The Inflation Reduction Act, which Raja supported, allows Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies to improve access to some of the costliest prescription drugs; however, more needs to be done. This would utilize market forces to drive down prices and make prescription drugs more affordable for all Americans – just as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has done successfully on behalf of millions of veterans who served in our military.