Healthcare is a human right. In Massachusetts, 1 in 5 residents are saddled with medical debt. In a thriving state that is the heart of the biotech industry and home to some of the best hospitals in the nation, no one should be underinsured or face financial hardship due to medical costs. The COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the gaping weaknesses in our current healthcare system and reveals just how many Americans are at risk due to a lack of coverage. We can and must do better.

I have experienced the broken medical system both as a practitioner and as a patient. I worked as an EMT in college: it was my first exposure to the deep flaws of our healthcare system and the hardest job I have ever held. It was profound to watch as our healthcare system failed time and again, forcing patients to the point of requiring emergency medical services. I transported hundreds of patients who, on top of dealing with their medical emergency, were deeply anxious about how much the ambulance ride was going to cost. I knew that my private ambulance company would charge at least $1,000. Meanwhile, I was only paid $13 per hour. Who was profiting off of our basic human rights? Where was the comprehensive rehabilitation and care for these people? As a patient, I found myself slammed with a $20,000 medical bill right out of college after being hospitalized at MGH for over a week. My health insurance found an error in my file and tried to get out of covering my medical bill altogether. This experience is all too familiar for working people.

Fixing the broken healthcare system will require the citizens of Massachusetts to stand up and say that our health and welfare are more important than the profits of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. The majority of Americans support Medicare for All. It is time that our politicians listen! Transparency and accessibility are essential to making a seismic policy shift such as Medicare for All. The insurance and pharmaceutical industry have outsized sway at the Massachusetts State House and are able to water down key legislation behind closed doors. In my work at Act on Mass, I have focused on making the State House the People's House -- we have a right to know how and why our representatives are making their decisions. As your representative, I will bring my coalition building and organizing background to bear to move forward a strong people-powered movement for Medicare for All in Massachusetts. 

WE WILL FIGHT FOR:

• Massachusetts Medicare for All, in which the state provides healthcare to all residents as a right, not a privilege, through a single-payer program

• Pass the Roe Act, removing arbitrary barriers to abortion access and mandatory parental consent, because every person has the right to choose what is best for their body

• Pass the Reduce Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Act, which would start to rectify the injustice that black people are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy than white people

• Require annual safety risk assessments and programs to eliminate violence for healthcare employees, combating violence against nurses and healthcare workers 

• Pass The Workforce Development and Patient Safety Act, calling for an assessment of the nursing workforce in order to set safe patients limits. The safety of patients and healthcare professionals should take priority over reducing costs 

• Stop the illegal closure of hospitals, extend the notice periods prior to the discontinuation of healthcare facilities, and protect communities from being cut-off from comprehensive services

• Guarantee free medical care in prisons and jails, including professional and evidence-based substance abuse and mental health treatment

• Guarantee that incarcerated trans people have full and complete access to healthcare 

• Require that schools electing to teach sex education provide medically accurate information and include information about both abstinence and contraception