About six of 10 Americans worry about affording health care, KFF Health News, a national independent newsroom reported.
During a virtual press conference Tuesday, Bob Harvie, the Democratic candidate set to square off against incumbent five-term Republican Brian Fitzpatrick to represent Pennsylvania’s first congressional district, talked about health care, prescription drug pricing and other issues Americans are facing.
“Whether you’re relatively healthy or have some sort of illness at some point, or another, you’ll have to use the health care system in this country … and it’s broken,” Harvie said.
While stopping short of endorsing a national “universal health care” mandate, Harvie called for expanding Medicare to allow those aged 55 to 65 to “opt into” the federally administered program.
Harvey said Americans need to demand prescription drug price reforms and pricing transparency. He called for restoring funding to Medicare and Medicaid programs and “putting people above profits.”
“Adding people to [the Medicare] marketplace aged 55 to 65 who will probably not use the health care system quite as much…would make the system more competitive,” Harvie explained.
By allowing those who are healthy to buy into Medicare for roughly 10 years and pay into the system before they need it for significant medical benefits would benefit everyone enrolled in the program.
Such a plan could financially bolster the program to better meet the needs of those using an already beleaguered system.
Medicare is funded through payroll tax deductions, general federal revenues, beneficiary premiums and interest earnings.
“Health care needs to be accessible to people and affordable to people, and right now neither of those two things are true for the vast majority of Americans,” Harvie said.
On January 1, thanks to the GOP the Affordable Care Act tax credits were cut, which led to skyrocketing health care premiums and costs. As many as 4 million Medicaid and SNAP users lost their benefits and a staggering 8 million Americans lost health care coverage.
According to The Commonwealth Fund, roughly 27 million Americans – or about 8% of the population – currently live without health and medical insurance.
Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democratic congresswoman representing Illinois’ 14th congressional district, said the health care message is key to flipping the House from Red to Blue.
Underwood is a lead sponsor of the Healthcare Affordability Act, which seeks to make permanent the ACA tax credits.
“This is the program that allows people to purchase marketplace coverage at an affordable price,” Underwood explained.
READ: Thanks to Republican Medicaid and ACA Cuts, Pennsylvanians Find Themselves in a Health Care Crisis
She said Democrats in the House forced a vote in January, with 17 Republicans supporting the ACA tax credits extension, but the Senate has not acted on the legislation.
“Another opportunity with the end of year package – depending on how big the election margin may be – and the prospect of big Democratic majorities” could be the time to make the tax cuts permanent, according to Underwood.
“Certainly in the first 100 days of a [potential] Democratic majority to make them permanent,” she said.
Lowering prescription drug costs, such as Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that put caps on medications like insulin and was set to reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over roughly 10 years (2022-2031) were drastically cut under the Trump administration.
“Nothing gets better if we keep kicking the can down the road. We need a system that covers the whole person – vision, dental, mental health and addiction treatment. All of those things have to be involved,” Harvie said.
READ: Bucks County and the Nation Now Await What Comes Next: Higher Health Care Costs
Among other solutions Harvie outlined include:
· “Guardrails” on pharmaceutical company prices by negotiating prescription drug prices and holding makers accountable.
· Preventing prescription drug cost price gouging.
· Providing tax credits to address health insurance barriers for small business owners, young adults and gig workers who may also go without or forgo health insurance coverage because of the cost.
According to Harvie, Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” slashed Medicaid and SNAP subsidies, and reduced many of the core components of the Inflation Reduction Act – including climate and clean energy provisions.
Harvie said Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon’s proposed Take Back our Hospitals Act (S.4085), sponsored along with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (CT), would move to “prohibit private equity firms from owning hospitals and skilled nursing facilities,” which could make health care access more affordable and accessible to everyone using it.
Bucks County owns and operates Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home, ranked among the top elder care facilities in the country by US News and World Report annually since 2024.
“We see the impact when you talk about cuts coming from the federal government to Medicaid, which also brings costs down for those who are not on Medicaid,” Harvie explained of older Americans living in care facilities and homes. “Health care should not be about profits; it should be about treating people and preventing people from becoming ill; educating people on self care and letting them know what their costs will be.”
While Fitzpatrick has remained silent and refused several calls to debate Harvie, the Democrat will host four upcoming town halls.
· October 8, 6:30 p.m. in Horsham, (Montgomery)
· October 9, 6:30 p.m. in Richlandtown Borough, (Bucks)
· October 14, 6:30 p.m. in Doylestown Borough, (Bucks)
· October 24 2 p.m. in Bristol Township (Bucks)
Harvie town halls are open to the public and members of the press. Media outlets should RSVP contact dan@bobharvieforcongress.com.
For event times and locations, see details on town links listed above.
