Healthcare

Healthcare You Can Actually Afford

I’ve spent my career in hospital administration. I’ve seen the bills. I’ve seen families in the lobby doing math no one should ever have to do. And I’ve watched Austin make it worse, session after session.

Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country. Roughly one in six Texans has no coverage at all. And if you DO have insurance, you’re paying more every year for less: higher premiums, higher deductibles, surprise bills, and prescriptions that cost a fortune. When people can’t afford care, they put it off until it becomes an emergency. Then we ALL pay - through higher premiums, through the property taxes that fund our county hospital district, and through hospitals that can’t keep their doors open.

Other states have figured out pieces of this. Texas lawmakers have simply refused to try.

My Policy Proposals:

1. Expand Medicaid and Close the Coverage Gap.

Texas is one of only a handful of states that has refused Medicaid expansion, even though the federal government would cover 90% of the cost. Texans already pay the federal taxes that fund expansion in other states. We’re sending our money out and getting nothing back. Expansion would cover working Texans who earn too much to qualify today but too little to afford private insurance.

2. Take On Medical Debt and Surprise Billing.

Strengthen and enforce Texas’s surprise billing protections, cap interest on medical debt, keep medical debt off credit reports, and require hospitals to screen patients for financial assistance before sending anyone to collections. Getting sick should never cost you your home or your credit.

3. Lower Prescription Drug Costs.

Create a Texas Prescription Drug Affordability Board to set limits on what we pay for the highest-cost drugs. Rein in pharmacy benefit managers and require rebates to reach patients, not middlemen. Build on Texas’s insulin copay cap and extend similar protections to other essential medications like inhalers and EpiPens.

4. Keep Care Close to Home.

Texas has lost more rural hospitals than any other state, and fast-growing communities like ours need clinics that keep pace with the rooftops. Invest in rural and safety-net hospitals, expand telehealth, and offer loan repayment to doctors and nurses who practice where Texans need them most.

5. Protect Women’s Health and Maternal Care.

Give doctors clear, medically sound standards so no woman is denied care during a miscarriage or a pregnancy emergency. Protect access to contraception, and close the maternity care deserts that force expecting mothers to drive hours for a checkup.

Healthcare shouldn’t depend on your zip code, your employer, or your luck. I know what care costs because I’ve seen the invoices. In Austin, I’ll fight to bring those costs down for EVERY family in District 132.