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Democratic

Ann Kuster

Annie Kuster was born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire to a family that taught her the values of kindness and empathy. Growing up, Annie helped her late mother, State Senator Susan McLane, who served in the NH House and Senate for over 25 years and was a pioneer for women in New Hampshire politics. Through that experience, Annie gained an appreciation for the good that government can do for communities and people, and a deep desire to help create positive change for Granite Staters. Her late father, Malcolm McLane, was Mayor of Concord, a New Hampshire Executive Councilor, and served as a prominent attorney for over 50 years.

Kuster is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she serves on the Health Subcommittee, Energy Subcommittee, and the Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee. She is also a member of the House Agriculture Committee, where she serves on the Nutrition, Oversight, & Department Operations Subcommittee, Commodity Exchanges, Energy, & Credit Subcommittee, and Conservation & Forestry Subcommittee.

Improving Access to Affordable Health Care

It is my goal to help ensure that all Granite State families have access to affordable, quality health care. I am committed to working with the business community and all stakeholders in a fiscally responsible way to lower the skyrocketing cost of medical care. If both parties work together, we can crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse within the health care system, reduce overpayments to insurance companies, and start paying health care providers for how well they treat patients, rather than how often.

To improve access to health care for New Hampshire families, I am taking the following steps:

  • Addressing the Opioid & Addiction Crisis: We are facing a public health emergency in New Hampshire with opioid and heroin addiction/overdose. That’s why I co-founded the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic in the last congress, and why I fought for passage of the landmark Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S.524). I also fought to include funding to address the opioid crisis in the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R.6), and I introduced Carl’s Law (H.R. 5601), which would require any medication that contains an opiate to include a warning on its label identifying the presence of opioids and the possibility of drug-seeking behavior.

 

  • Supporting Biomedical Research: Research done by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) helps develop better tools to effectively detect, manage, and potentially cure a wide range of diseases afflicting families in New Hampshire and across the world. I recognize that this funding is critical for NIH to sustain its mission of improving health through scientific breakthroughs and maintaining international leadership in biomedical and pharmaceutical research. That is why I urged congressional leaders to approve robust funding for the NIH and its critical mission, supported making the research and development tax credit permanent, and am fighting to reverse the damaging impact of sequestration on research programs. Additionally, I supported the 21st Century Cures Act because it included billions of dollars in additional funding to innovative and groundbreaking medical technology and techniques.

 

  • Fighting Alzheimer’s Disease: Among the top ten leading causes of death in America, Alzheimer's is the only one without a proven way to prevent it, cure it, or even slow its progression. This disease is deeply personal to me and I coauthored a book with my mother, Susan McLane, about her experience with Alzheimer's. That's why I am a proud cosponsor of the Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act (H.R. 1507), which would improve access to diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as to care planning services for newly diagnosed individuals and their families. As a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Taskforce on Alzheimer’s Disease, I will continue to work with my colleagues to advocate for robust funding for medical research and to increase support to Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. I also supported the nearly $2 billion of funding to the BRAIN Initiative found within the 21st Century Cures Act. This initiative would focus on finding cures and treatments to brain disorders, especially Alzheimer’s.

To help strengthen New Hampshire’s health care system, I am member of the Children’s Health Care Caucus, the Bipartisan Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force, the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, Congressional Military Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Caucus, and the Biomedical Research Caucus.