Millions of Americans are unable to afford any health insurance or are denied insurance because of prior illness. People who have health insurance are paying too much because they are bearing the financial burden of care for the uninsured. Most small businesses struggle to find affordable health care to offer their employees.

If we do nothing, things will keep getting worse. I believe that we need to achieve several goals:

• Affordable health insurance should be available so everyone who wishes to purchase health insurance is able to do so.
• Patients and the doctors they choose should have the final say over treatments and care.
• No one should be denied coverage or dropped from their insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
• Medicare, which has served our seniors so well for over four decades, should be preserved and strengthened with harsher penalties for those who commit fraud.

Special interests in Washington don’t want things to change because the big companies they represent are getting rich from this broken system. As your Congresswoman, I’ll tell them the party is over!